Darren L. Benson (born August 25, 1974) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was selected by the

in the third round of the 1995

Supplemental Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. About TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas co ...

Early life and education

Benson attended

Craigmont High School Craigmont High School is a public high school (grades 9–12) located in Memphis, Tennessee, in the Raleigh community. It was part of the Memphis City Schools district before consolidation with the Shelby County Schools district, beginning with ...

, where he played as a

. He accepted a football scholarship from

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

. He didn't play in his first year because of failing to meet the grades requirements of Proposition 48. In 1993, he transferred to

. As a freshman, he contributed to the team having an 11-1 record, while collecting 82 tackles and 10 sacks. As a sophomore, he played a key role in the undefeated (12-0) 1994 NJCA Championship team, posting 109 tackles (20 for loss) and 21 sacks.

Professional career

Benson was selected by the

in the third-round (1st overall) of the 1995

, surrendering by rule an equivalent pick in the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

. The Cowboys thought Benson had the athletic potential to develop into a

Leon Lett Leon Lett Jr. (born October 12, 1968) is a former American football defensive tackle and coach who is the assistant defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Lett previously played in the NFL for 11 seaso ...

type player. As a 21-year-old rookie, he was deactivated during the first half of the 1995 season, until injuries on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

gave him a chance to have a reserve role throughout the second half of the season. Including pairing with Lett on the

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

rush team. He finished with 4 defensive tackles. In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, he was having problems adjusting to the professional game and decided to quit the team during

mini-camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

. After he was convinced to return, he suffered torn anterior and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee during a practice and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 20. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, he was deactivated in the first 3 games of the season. He was deactivated for the fifth game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. He moved into the

rotation after

Chad Hennings Chad William Hennings (born October 20, 1965) is a former American football defensive tackle for the Air Force Academy Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. He won the Outland Trophy in his senior year of college in 1987. Despite facing an obligation t ...

suffered a groin injury. He was declared inactive in five straight games after Hennings returned from his injury. He played in the season finale against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and had 4 tackles. He recorded 7 tackles (one for loss) during the season. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament in the fourth preseason game against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

. He was placed on the

on August 24. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he was released before the season started on September 6. He finished his career with 11 tackles (one for loss).

References

External links

Cowboy Coaches Keep Eye on Benson Darren Benson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Darren 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee American football defensive tackles Trinity Valley Cardinals football players Dallas Cowboys players