On the final day of this year's Big 12 football media days in July, an overanxious reporter leaned in to ask Texas running back Cedric Benson about this year's team.
"Ricky, talk to me about..." he asked, stopping himself when he realized his mistake.
Of course he did. It was bound to happen eventually. The similarities between Benson and former Longhorn running back Ricky Williams are distinct. The comparisons are inevitable.
Like Williams, Benson weighs in for his senior year at a sculpted 220 pounds. Like Williams, he gave up professional baseball to devote the summer to football.
Like Williams, Benson passed up the NFL draft to return to be "the man" as a Longhorn senior.
And like Williams in his senior year, Benson will be called upon to carry both the offense and, the team if the Longhorns hope to rise to new heights.
"We would like to see Cedric be the big leader for our football team," head coach Mack Brown said. "Ricky always seemed like he got better as the game went on and was dominant in the fourth quarter. Cedric can do that same thing."
The comparisons have been made early and often since the high school legend from Midland stepped on campus in 2001. Only two years had passed since Williams graduated to the NFL. Fans left longing for a Heisman-caliber dreadlocked running attack chanted in unison for Benson in his first game.
A teammate immediately dubbed Benson "Little Ricky minus two," (Williams wore 34, Benson wore 32), and Benson himself admits to patterning his game after the former Heisman-winner.
"When I was in sitting in my bed in 1998, my mom woke me up to tell me the Cotton Bowl was on and Ricky was running," said Benson, who got to meet Williams during his game at Houston in 2001. "That whole season I was glued to the TV and Texas football, just trying to pick up every little thing."
But, unlike Williams, Benson is trying to carry his Longhorns up a much steeper mountain - a burden that, in Austin, is never light.
This season is the seventh since Brown took over the Longhorns, promising wins, titles and a return to the glory days of former head coach Darrell K Royal. Brown's Longhorns have been good - nearly great - and have won plenty of games. But with a roughing-the-punter penalty here, an untimely interception there - plus four discouraging October Saturdays in Dallas - the titles and former glory have eluded burnt orange faithful.
So, following last season's disappointing Holiday Bowl loss to Washington State, Brown made several changes to get his team over that seemingly interminable hump.
He replaced defensive coordinator Carl Reese with Greg Robinson, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, to revamp the defense. He also brought in good friend and former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey to help.
And he also named uber-talented sophomore quarterback Vince Young the clear starter over the summer to avoid season-plaguing controversies of past years, and Young responded with notable improvement in spring and fall training camps.
So, with an experienced offensive line that gelled over the second half of last season, odds that Texas clears the hump this season are higher than disheartened Longhorn fans may realize. Furthermore, the relatively easy schedule (read: no Nebraska or Kansas State) could make even the most pessimistic pundit hopeful.
And therein lies the difference between the Heisman winner and the Heisman hopeful.
When Williams returned for his senior season, he and Brown lifted a downtrodden 4-7 team to a respectable 9-3. The peasants rejoiced, and season-ticket sales sky rocketed. But the problem in the eyes of many Longhorn fans is that the current Texas team is still building, not finishing, on the groundwork laid six years before.
But if Benson and friends win nine games this year, season-ticket sales probably won't increase. Alumni would presumably grumble, and Brown could even be out of a job with another loss in October to Oklahoma.
"It's not only very important to the program but very important to the people," Benson said. "The city of Austin - they want to beat Oklahoma just as bad."
Overall and individually, Benson has done plenty to warrant praise, and his numbers speak loudly.
His 3,706 career yards are the most among active collegiate players.
He is the third back in Longhorn history with three 1,000-yard seasons. With another this year, he will become the only Longhorn with four.
With 28 touchdowns this year, he would break both single-season and career touchdown records - both held by, of course, Williams.
"When you look at what Cedric has accomplished, it's pretty amazing," Brown said. "He had high expectations on him when he got here, and I think sometimes we don't appreciate his numbers. When you're following Ricky and Earl, those expectations are very very high, but I think Cedric is one of the top backs in America. But he's leaner, faster and stronger."
With lingering questions about Young's passing accuracy and this year's wideout corps boasting only 27 combined career receptions, opposing defensive coordinators could easily key in on Benson by stacking eight or nine men on the defensive line and forcing Young to throw.
Furthermore, Benson knows gaudy numbers aren't enoughand don't tell the whole story - the tale of slow season starts and his almost complete disappearance in the Oklahoma games.To overcome the bulls eye on his back and carry the team for a complete season, Benson knew the numbers would have to get better.
The answer was clear. So he dropped his day job (baseball), and discovered a new passion (weight rooms).
"This year I feel more like 'the man' than I ever have before, just because I'm more mature and bigger and stronger, faster, better," he said. After a moment's hesitation he adds thoughtfully and confidently, "I'm hungry."
He also realized there had been a dearth of leadership in previous years, and as "the man" he would have to step up off the field as well.
"Guys really had their own opinions about things, and sometimes it can affect how much they put out," Benson said. "In a sense, we as players have hurt ourselves, because we hadn't totally bought in. And that's one of the great things about this team is that everyone is buying into the whole thing."
It may not be easy to picture someone who might be best known from headlines of off the field troubles, as the one who has stepped up to fill that void. And it might be hard to picture the same Benson, who often seems aloof or disengaged in front of the press, becoming a vocal leader for the team.
But Brown has raved about his improvement and work ethic, and insists the offensive line hasn't been as excited about blocking for anyone since Williams.
"I want to make every hole as big as possible for Cedric," fullback Will Matthews said. "If the blockers do our job, the Heisman will take care of itself."
Plus teammates say from what they saw in this summer's workouts, Benson has the maturity he needs to be the leader they want.
And Benson said that he's tired of the criticism. He passed up NFL millions for one last shot at getting things right, and this season he plans to do just that.
"The whole summer, all I thought about was football," he said. "I know where my head is, and all summer all I have worked on is football.
As his eyes light up with the thought of carrying his team to a new level, everything he says suddenly seems genuine. After all, Williams did it - lifting the program back to respectability and onto the road to dominance.
And like Williams, Benson will have his chance.
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