Professional Football Player. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, and also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the University of Texas, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He stood out in the 8th grade at Abell Junior High School in Midland, Texas. He then went to Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas, and had 8,423 rushing yards (the most in Texas 5A history, largest classification at the time, 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 rushed for more than 1,900 yards in only 9 games. He rushed for over 3,500 yards and 51 touchdowns his junior year in an undefeated State and National Championship season. He was the first high school player to ever make the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football annual magazine. Benson was also a centerfielder on the baseball team. As a senior, in District 4-5A games, he hit .361 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. He was also drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th round 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. He also played with the Gulf Coast League Dodgers. In 25 at-bats he had 5 hits, 1 run, 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 RBIs. He went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a four-year starter for the Texas Longhorns football team. He received the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and was recognized as a consensus All-American while a senior in 2004. He finished his college career with 5,540 rushing yards to rank sixth all time in NCAA Division I-A history. After many troubles with the Chicago Bears, he was released. He signed a one-year, $520,000 contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on September 30, 2008. A free agent after the 2008 season, he visited with the Houston Texans before signing a two-year, $7 million contract with the Bengals on March 3, 2009. Entering week 8 of the 2009 season, he had 164 carries for an NFL best 720 yards (4.4 per carry average). In week 5, he became the first 100-yard rusher against the Baltimore Ravens in 40 games, when he rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown. In week 7, he faced his former team, the Chicago Bears, and rushed for a career-high 189 yards and a touchdown. He went on to record his first 1,000-yard rushing season and he set a Bengals franchise record with six games with over 100 rushing yards. He finished the season as the NFL's 8th leading rusher with 1,251 yards, despite only playing 13 games. He then set a Bengals postseason record with 169 rushing yards in their 24–14 loss to the New York Jets. On August 12, 2012, he signed with the Green Bay Packers. The deal was reportedly a one-year contract worth $825,000. However, on October 7, 2012, Benson suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot and was later placed on injured reserve. It was his final season in the NFL. After his NFL career, Benson became a loan originator. On August 17, 2019, he died in a motorcycle crash.