Back in 2007m we saw the then-Indianapolis Colts kicker Hunter Smith team up with singer songwriter Chris Wilson to form the acoustic/worship duo Connersvine. This year features another former Indianapolis Colt trying his hand in Christian music. Although the tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals, Ben Utecht, is a solo artist, he owes much of his off-the-field success to Sandi Patty.

The first track off Utecht's self titled debut, "Generations," mixes a basic adult contemporary/worship beat with Utecht's Wayne Watson-like vocals. The result: a modern worship team sound which would have passed in the 90's. The album throws virtually no curveballs, but it tries to with an uneventful duet with Sandi Patty on "We All Bow Down" to add some diversity in the twelve track mix. Throughout the disc there are some nods to 33 Miles and John Waller but nothing here is quite up to even their speed. The piano driven "Here I Am" is one of the album's better songs when the pop rock music gets a solid vocal output from Utecht. The only track which manages to stand out musically is "Daniel," which features some intense moments propelled by an impressively placed piano. However, when Utecht sings the repetitive pre-chorus, the worship rock song turns for the worst leaving one of the would-be-strong songs a little short. "Daniel" also reflects the fatal flaw of the album lyrically. Over the twelve chapters that make up the book of Daniel there are many fascinating events that occur, but Utecht draws from the simplest story as the theme for his song. Cliché-ridden tracks like "Glimpse Of Heaven" and "How Beautiful" are rare on the disc, but the overall complexity of the tracks which accurately praise God is low.

After meeting at Super Bowl XLI, Sandi Patty signed Ben Utecht to her label, Stylos, hoping He would be a champion behind a microphone. But, honestly, his self-titled album would fall far behind Bebo Norman, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, MercyMe, Rush of Fools, Building 429, Warren Barfield, and the list goes on. Although writing assistants Jeremy Camp and Mark Harris help out Ben Utecht's first album and some potential reveals itself, his album is far from a touchdown.

- Review date: 8/19/09, written by Nathaniel Schexnayder of Jesusfreakhideout.com