Cedric Benson
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| Cedric Benson | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 28, 1982 (age 24) |
| Place of birth |  Midland, Texas |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Position(s) | RB |
| College | Texas |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 1 / Pick 4 |
| Career Highlights | |
| Awards | 2004 Doak Walker Award |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-present | Chicago Bears |
Cedric Myron Benson (born December 28, 1982 in Midland, Texas) is an American football running back. He was drafted fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
Contents |
[edit] High school career
Cedric Benson attended Lee High School in Midland, Texas, and finished his career with 8,423 rushing yards in his career (the most in Texas 5A history and the fourth most in Texas high school football history). He led his team to three consecutive State Championships, and rushed for a total of 15 touchdowns in the three championship games. He was the first high school player to ever make the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football annual magazine. Cedric was also an excellent center fielder on the baseball team. As a senior, in District 4-5A games, he hit .361 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs.
[edit] College career
Benson was a four-year starter at The University of Texas at Austin, where he received the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back in 2004. He finished his college career with 5,540 rushing yards to rank sixth all time in NCAA Division 1A history, and second only to Ricky Williams in school history.
He has often been compared to Ricky Williams, due to their similarities in running style, college choice, and superficial appearance (roughly the same size and build coming out of college, and both had dreadlocks early in their careers). Due to several off-field controversies involving Ricky Williams, Benson has tried to distance himself from Williams and establish his own identity. Despite his efforts, he was charged with marijuana possession during his Freshman year, though the charges were later dropped.
[edit] Professional career
Despite promising not to hold out upon being drafted, Benson was engaged in an extended contract hold-out with the Chicago Bears, but they eventually agreed to a five-year deal, ending the 36-day holdout. Benson is currently first on Chicago's depth chart at running back, due to the recent trade of Thomas Jones.
During his best game in 2005, he rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries against the New Orleans Saints. However, shortly afterwards, in what appeared to be a horrific injury, he suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain and missed most of the remaining season.
During a 2006 FOX News Chicago Sports special on the Chicago Bears summer camp, it was revealed that Benson would be on top of Thomas Jones on the depth chart. Days after the announcement, FOX Chicago reported that Benson has injured his shoulder after a collision with Brian Urlacher during a routine scrimmage. Although the injury was not serious, it placed Benson on the Bears' injury list for a majority of the NFL's preseason. Jones was declared the unconditional starter before the season began.
Although Benson fully recovered from his injury, Lovie Smith selected Jones as the Bears' starter. Benson scored his first two touchdowns during week five of the 2006 NFL season, against the Buffalo Bills. In a game against the New England Patriots during week twelve of the 2006 Chicago Bears season, Benson collided with linebacker Junior Seau. The collision caused Seau to fall down and fracture his forearm.
Days later, Benson challenged Lovie Smith’s coaching by remarking, “the NFL is not like high school or college, but the best players don't always get on the field.” [1] The following week, Benson out rushed Jones and scored a vital third quarter touchdown. He began to receive more carries as the weeks progressed, and managed to rush for over 100 yards against the Green Bay Packers.
However, during the playoffs, Benson became the Bears' secondary running back again. In the divisional playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, Benson only received twelve carries for which he rushed 45 yards. In the 2006 NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, Benson scored a fourth quarter touchdown and totaled 60 yards. Though he was given a majority of the team's carries, Jones amassed two touchdowns and 123 rushing yards. In Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Benson was injured in the first half and finished the game with -1 yards rushing and a fumble in the Bears' 29-17 loss to Indianapolis.
[edit] Trivia
- Benson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th round (370th overall) of the 2001 MLB Draft. While Benson did not play in the major leagues, he spent his time with the Dodgers playing in their summer league at Vero Beach. In 2003, Benson left the Dodgers to concentrate on his football career.
- While attending the University of Texas, Benson majored in social work and sociology.
- Outside of atheltics, Cedric established himself as a hard working student while attending the University of Texas. During his latter years, he earned membership into the Texas' Athletics Director's Academic Honor Roll, and the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll in fall of 2003.
[edit] External links
- Benson's Offcial Chicago Bears Profile
- Cedric Benson Highlight Videos from jcdenton40.com
| Preceded by Chris Perry |
Doak Walker Award Winner 2004 |
Succeeded by Reggie Bush |
| Preceded by Tommie Harris |
Bears 1st round draft pick 2005 |
Succeeded by no 1st round pick |
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