Cedric Benson and I are a lot alike.

We are both college students -- Benson a senior at Texas, myself a senior at a school people like to pronounce "spew."

We both have an affinity for football -- Benson enjoys playing the sport, I enjoy living vicariously through possession receivers.

We both have dreadlocks -- Benson in real life, myself in the video game version of me, which, by the way, ran for over 1,800 yards last season.

Where the similarities end is at where we will be on Saturday morning.

Cedric Benson, a star running back for the University of Texas and a sure-fire top ten pick, will be in New York City at the NFL Draft.

I will be watching my girlfriend get inducted into Ivy Honorary Society.

Ah, to be a 22-year-old college senior about to be picked for a career that will reap millions and millions of dollars over the next decade, allowing for an easy shift into middle age and, after some wise investments, providing a smooth transition into retirement.

As it is, I'll have to settle for the life of a 22-year-old college senior about to be thrust into the real world with only his charming good looks, a communications degree and a knack for street magic to survive on.

Who will have the more fulfilling life? Many would think Benson has the upper hand on life happiness, but I would be remiss -- and actually kind of depressed -- to think that my life would be less fulfilling.

Granted, there is little categorical evidence to support my belief that no-future-plans-outside-of-an-ABC-Family-special-at-seven is better than I-just-got-a-10-million-dollar-signing-bonus. But the following theories might help make sense of my seemingly misguided belief.

First of all, my life is better than an NFL draft pick's because I do not get physically abused day in and day out. NFL players take hit after hit throughout the course of a game, whereas I only get beaten on figuratively by the demands of my ten-credit classload.

An NFL rookie also has to face hazing rituals, which can range from singing in front of the team to being tied up to the goalpost and doused in ice water. I have never had to do either, although I did lose a bet to a girl once and had to be her slave for a day, which, all things considered, made it seem like I had won.

Third, football players have to watch what they eat. Their meals consist of every one of the major four food groups, more protein than you could imagine, and every different kind of vitamin and mineral. I, on the other hand, can't wake up in the morning without two strawberry Pop Tarts.

For every perk and benefit that being an NFL player has, I can match it based on the good things in my life.

Take the following for example.

Football players have fame and fortune. I am recognized in the Finance Office, and perhaps on a related note, I received a check for 192 dollars that I didn't know I earned.

Football players have jerseys with their names on the back. I have a closet full of personalized floor T-shirts.

Football players have rock-hard muscles and toned bodies. I spent my 192 dollar check on a gallon of protein powder and an ab roller.

As you can see, the gap between future NFL fame and success and my meager life is not as large as you might think.

On Saturday, Cedric Benson will walk up to the podium to shake the commissioner's hand and begin his wealthy, secure life as an NFL player.

Meanwhile, I will walk up to my girlfriend to giver her a hug and a kiss and be reminded that I wasn't Ivy Honorary material because I spent the majority of my college experience playing Snood.

And that, my friends, is something that Cedric Benson can never say.