 He played college football at Washington State under head coach Mike Price; in his senior season of 1997, the Cougars won the Pac-10 title and played in the Rose Bowl, WSU's first return to the game in 67 years.He graduated in 1993 from Santana High School in Santee, California, east of San Diego.Six weeks after the draft, Bender unexpectedly died at age 22 before gaining the opportunity to play an NFL game.