Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
9. player. 851. . RB. Longhorns . Cedric Benson
Big 12 Football best players of all-time: 9. Cedric Benson, RB, Texas football
A Texas-born athlete, Cedric Benson was on the radar of college teams as early as the eighth grade. He then went off in high school, registering 8,423 yards which were the most in Texas 5A history. In addition to his talent on the football field, Benson was a good baseball player as well, even being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001.
It’s safe to say choosing football was the right move for him. He destroyed opposing defenses for the Longhorns, eclipsing 1,000 yards in all four seasons — starting with his 1,053-yard mark and 12 scores in 2001. He followed that up with 1,293 and 12 touchdowns and 1,360 in 2003 with a personal best 21 touchdowns.
Benson returned for his senior season and ran for 1,834 yards and 19 touchdowns. That gave him 5,540 yards and 64 touchdowns on the ground in four seasons. His performance was enough to land him the AT&T ESPN All-American Player of the Year in 2004 and then the Chicago Bears took him fourth overall in 2005.
He spent eight seasons in the NFL playing for the Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, and Green Bay Packers. His final campaign in the NFL was in 2012 at the age of 30. Sadly, Benson was lost in a motorcycle accident six years later. One of the best running backs in Big 12 history, Benson was gone too soon but his legend lives on as one of the top Longhorns ever.