Bennett Has Success in His Sights


	Senior DT Cory Bennett

NORMAN, Okla. -- It all comes down to this, fans. You can feel the excitement in the air as 85,000 come alive for Cory Bennett and the Sooner defense. The defense is tired and has been all over the field tonight, but we will see what they have left right here. This is the game folks, fourth and five. The ball is snapped, the quarterback is scrambling. Here comes Bennett from the backside, blowing by lineman, he bowls over the back, the quarterback is in reach… BOOM!

Just as Bennett was able to claim victory by sacking the quarterback, he has used the same tactics to visualize graduating from college, being a role model and pursuing future goals.

Getting his degree is comparable to reading the defense and breaking through the offensive line and running back. After the ball is snapped, the next obstacle is getting to the quarterback, similar to the hurdles faced in the classroom. The offensive line and running back are the barriers on the field and the challenge to earning a diploma may be a certain teacher or an assignment. Whether the impeding force is the opponent in football pads or a test in the classroom, Bennett finds reaching each goal to be equally fulfilling.

Just as Bennett will become the first person in his family to graduate from college, he also leads others on and off the football field with his strong character.

He records tackles in football and scores in the classroom, but he feels his most important victory is being a role model for his son, C.J., and younger siblings, Jeffrey and Breanna. He knows everything he does sets an example.

Even if there are days when he doesn't want to go to class, he goes because everything in life is about pushing through and he wants his family to share the same attitude. Going to class is equivalent to sacking the quarterback at the end of the game. It doesn't matter how tired he is or how hard it is, Bennett is committed to finishing the assignment.

"I want to be one of the people who can be looked at as a role model," Bennett said. "I like to go back home to my church and talk to the young people about living out their dream. I never thought I was going to be in college. The fact of the matter is is that it is a blessing to be here and to have met the guys I have met."

Bennett is also there for his teammates. On the field, for the defense to be successful, he must always have their back. Off the field, he is there when they need advice or just want someone to listen.

"He is a good person," Quentin Chaney said. "He is the one person I know I can call and sit down and talk to who will understand what I am going through."

"Cory has the best interest at heart for everybody and is always there when you need him," Gerald McCoy said. "He is a leader on the team and, when he is in the game, you always know he is going to give 100 percent. You never have to worry about him giving up or not taking care of his responsibilities."

The sack has been made, but it is not time to celebrate because a penalty would ruin the hard work. Bennett must think about his future and use self-discipline to set an example for the people who look up to him.

"My biggest fan is my little sister, Breanna," a smiling Bennett said. "She got a brand new backpack for school and wrote 'Cory's Sister' on it. I told her that her friends do not know about me, but she said I talk about you all the time. She is the only one who makes me blush."

Bennett wants to expand his role model status and discovered his calling by pursuing a career with the FBI after taking sociology classes at OU and earning his degree.

"My mom would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I would say a policeman," Bennett said. "Where I come from, the attitude toward law enforcement is always negative. I like to help people, so if I get into law enforcement, I can show that there is also a cool side to it."

Whether Bennett is pushing through the offensive line or graduation requirements, pummeling the quarterback or teammates' problems or pursuing a positive example and future dreams, he knows it will all be worth it in the end.

"After you sack the quarterback, everybody is cheering, calling your name, because they know what you go through in the summer and winter to get that tackle," Bennett said. "It feels good ... just like it will when I will walk across the stage at graduation. Everyone will cheer because they know what I went through to graduate."

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Feature by Jennifer Van Tuyl | OU Athletics Media Relations

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