32 days until Texas Football: Looking back on the legend of Cedric Benson
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on.
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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 32 days until kickoff. No. 32 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Brady Sarkisian, a freshman walk-on linebacker and the son of Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. It was also worn by the late, great Cedric Benson, a consensus All-American and the 2004 recipient of the Doak Walker Award.
Brady Sarkisian season outlook
Brady, the only son of Steve, committed to Texas as a preferred walk-on in December of 2022.
Sarkisian had scholarship offers from Arkansas State and Marshall. Texas lists him at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds. According to MaxPreps, Sarkisian played in 13 games in 2022 for Corona Del Mar High School. He had 33 tackles with 11.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, and 2 blocked punts.
During the 2021 campaign, Sarkisian had 34 total tackles, including 7.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Sarkisian will be tasked with providing quality looks to the Longhorn offense as part of the scout team.
Brady Sarkisian as a recruit
Sarkisian was unranked as a prospect. One of the four major services ranked him as the No. 222 linebacker in the nation.
Notable No. 32: Cedric Benson
Few backs arrived at Texas with as much fanfare as Benson. Even in the years following Ricky Williams‘ career, Benson, a former Midland (Texas) Lee standout, had high expectations from the start. He lived up to them almost immediately, recording four 1000-yard seasons as a Longhorn and increasing his rushing total with each campaign.
He rushed for 1053 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman in 2001. Then in 2002, he tallied 1293 yards and another 12 touchdowns. His junior year was great, with 1360 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he outdid himself during his senior season.
In 2004, Benson rushed 326 times for 1834 yards and 19 scores. He also caught 22 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, which put his yardage total at 2013 and his touchdown total at 20.
Benson remains the No. 2 all-time leading rusher in school history, with his 5540 yards only behind Williams. The same goes for Benson’s 64 touchdowns behind Williams’ 72. Benson’s 1112 attempts are the most in the history of the program.
Benson took home the program’s second Doak Walker Award in 2004 for his efforts on Texas’ 11-1, Rose Bowl winning team. He was a consensus All-American and was picked fourth overall in the 2005 draft by the Chicago Bears. His best Heisman finish was 6th in 2004.
Benson tragically passed in a motorcycle accident in 2019 at the age of 36. Many of Benson’s close friends and teammates offered praise to the Texas legend not only for his exploits on the field, but his gentle demeanor and kind heart off of it.
There’s little doubt Benson lived up to the lofty expectations levied upon him in his standout four-year career, and he is a popular if not easy choice for the Mount Rushmore of Texas running backs.
Recent No. 32: Malcolm Roach
Roach played in 47 career games with 23 starts in his four years on the 40 Acres, spending time at both defensive end and linebacker in his career. He was one of six Longhorns elected by their teammates as a captain for the 2019 season.
Roach racked up 134 tackles, 83 of them solo, along with 22.5 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, three passes defended and a blocked kick while at Texas.
Roach named preseason All-Big 12 by Phil Steele (third Team) and Athlon Sports (fourth Team) in 2019, the same season he was included in the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list. He was member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2018) and was named honorable mention as Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2016.
All-Americans to wear No. 32
Cedric Benson, RB, 2004
Joe Cook co-authored this article
