Texas Football: 10 best moments in the career of RB Cedric Benson

1. All the honors in 2004

Cedric Benson really brought home the hardware for the Texas football program after he capped off his senior campaign in 2004 in style with the memorable Rose Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.

In 2004, Benson finished in the top 10 in the Heisman voting. He also won the Doak Walker Award for the best running back in the nation and was a consensus First-Team All-American. Benson also had a very valid argument that he was snubbed from the Heisman Trophy in 2004 behind other running backs that had less productive seasons like Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson and USC’s Reggie Bush.

Potentially the most impressive honor for Benson in 2004 was winning the first ever AT&T ESPN All-American Player of the Year. AT&T and ESPN teamed up to create that award that last from 2004-2012. It would also include two other former Longhorns in that span in quarterbacks Vince Young and Colt McCoy.

The other major honors that Benson received in 2004, outside of the hardware from the Rose Bowl, was First-Team All-Big 12 for the second year in a row. All these awards that Benson got from his standout 2004 season was the perfect way to cap his legendary career on the Forty Acres.