The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
12.26.2004 | Football
Texas senior RB Cedric Benson (Midland, Texas/Lee HS) and LB Derrick Johnson (Waco, Texas/Waco HS) both finished among the Top 12 vote getters for the Heisman Trophy, the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, which tallies the votes for the nation's most prestigious individual award, confirmed this week. It marked the first time in Longhorn history that two players finished among the Heisman Trophy top 12.
Benson finished sixth in the Heisman voting, joining a group of eight Longhorns, including 1977 winner Earl Campbell and 1998 victor Ricky Williams, who have finished among the Heisman Trophy top six. Benson registered 12 first place, 41 second place and 69 third place votes for a total of 187 points.
Benson, the 2004 Doak Walker Award winner and Cingular ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year, earned first-team All-American honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, ESPN and Sports Illustrated. The consensus first-team All-Big 12 pick was the fourth-leading rusher in the nation with 1,764 yards and was second with 19 touchdowns. He ranks third on the NCAA all-time rushing TD list (64) and is sixth in all-time rushing yards (5,470). One of only five players to rush for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, his 37 career games with a TD are an NCAA record.
Johnson finished 12th in the Heisman voting and was the highest finishing defensive player. He had three first place, four second place and nine third place votes for a total of 26 points. That is the second-highest Heisman finish for a Longhorn defensive player. Tommy Nobis was seventh in 1965.
Johnson, Texas' first ever Butkus Award winner in 2004, was a unanimous first-team All-American and was a unanimous choice for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He also claimed the Bronko Nagurski Award (nation's top defensive player) and was a finalist for the Bednarik (nation's top defensive player) and Lombardi (nation's top lineman) Awards and the Ronnie Lott Trophy (nation's top defensive player). The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder led the Longhorns with 128 tackles (72 solo), 19 TFLs, and eight forced fumbles this season. He also recorded 10 QB pressures, eight pass break ups and two sacks in 2004. For his career, Johnson is third on UT's all-time tackles list with 456 and first in tackles for loss with 65.
Other notable Longhorn Heisman finishers include QB Bobby Layne, who was eighth in 1946 and sixth in 1947; RB James Saxton who was third in 1961; Scott Appleton who was fifth in 1963 as a lineman; RB Steve Worster who was fourth in 1970; and RB Roosevelt Leaks who was third in 1973.
