Cedric Dockery
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Cedric Dockery (born September 26, 1985 in Dallas, Texas) is an offensive lineman for the University of Texas, playing the Guard position for the Longhorns in the NCAA college football tournament. Dockery had a breakthrough season as a junior in 2007 after serving as a full-time back-up in his rookie season and spending half of his sophomore year recuperating from a season-ending injury. Dockery was one of the main reasons why NFL 3rd round draft pick Jamaal Charles emerged to become one of the best rushers in the Big 12 with 1,619 rushing yards (No. 5 on UT’s single-season rushing list). With Dockery on the line, Texas also became one of the scoring and rushing leaders in the league and in the nation.
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Personal Life
Cedric was born in Dallas but grew up in Garland. He is not the first in the family to play at Texas as his brother, All-American offensive lineman Derrick Dockery, also suited up as a Longhorn from 1999-2002 before being drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 2003 NFL Draft then signed with the Buffalo Bills. He majored in youth and community studies at the University of Texas at Austin and is active in the school's community service program. Inspite of his success on the field, Ced has also performed quite well academically, being a prep honor student who maintained better than a 3.0 GPA. When he is not on the football field, Cedric likes to play video games or sometimes listen to his favorite artist, The Dream.
High School
Dockery played both basketball and football at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas. He played hoops on his first two years at Lakeview before focusing on football thereafter. On the gridiron, Dockery was a three-year letterman and starter on head coach Flint Risien's offensive line while sometimes moonlighting as a tight end. Dockery's first year as starter happened in 2001 when he was a sophomore, finishing the season with 30 pancakes. He continued to start the following season and produced 55 pancakes enroute to being named as an all-district and All-Dallas Fort Worth Area selection as a junior. In his final year at Lakeview, Dockery averaged over 10 pancakes per game and had one of his best performances against Thomas Jefferson when he recorded 13 pancakes and helped the team rush for 206 yards. He capped his prep career with a number of postseason accolades such as all-district 12-5A first team, All-Dallas-Fort Worth area second team, The Associated Press 5A all-state second team, and USA Today All-USA second team honors. Dockery was also able to showcase his football skills during the preseason as he was chosen to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl alongside the likes of Brian Brohm, Chad Henne, and Fred Davis among others.
College
Dockery received scholarship offers from several teams, including Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, LSU, Nebraska, and Texas A&M, but decided to follow the footsteps of his elder brother and become a Longhorn.
2004
Redshirted.
2005
In his redshirt freshman year, Dockery was able to see action as a reserve on the offensive guard position behind the likes of seniors Will Allen and Mike Garcia, and junior Kasey Studdard. He made his collegiate debut against Louisiana-Lafayette and helped Texas amass a total of 591 yards, 418 of which came from the ground, in the 60-3 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns. He was fielded in against Rice and helped the Longhorns gain 361 rushing yards and 483 total as UT dismantled the Owls, 51-10. In the Big 12 opener at Missouri, Texas rushed for 349 yards and gained 585 of total offense in the 31-point blow-out win over the Tigers. After helping the Longhorns rack up 482 total yards against 24th ranked Colorado, Dockery and the rest of the O-line challenged the defense of 10th ranked Texas Tech---who previously limited opponents to merely 328.2 yards and 19.4 points per game---and prevailed as the Longhorns came out with a 52-17 victory highlighted by their 444 yards of total offense while scoring 52 points. At Oklahoma State, Texas managed to register 606 total yards, with 367 rushing, in the 19-point blow-out over the Cowboys. At Baylor, he helped the offense gain 645 yards (5th best offensive output), rush for 347, and score 62 points against a Bear defense which only gave up 333.8 yards and 20.5 points per game previously. Although the back-to-back 600-yard games was a feat itself since it was a first for the Longhorns, UT outdid itself and produced 617 more yards against Kansas, impressively rushing for 336 yards against the Jayhawk defense that ranked as one of the best in the country (gave up only 64.1 ypg). In his postseason debut in a rematch with Colorado for the Big 12 Championship, Dockery helped the offense score a Big 12 title game record of 70 points with 486 total yards and six scoring runs in the 70-3 win.
That year, Texas' high-octane offense ranked first in scoring (50.2 ppg), 2nd in rushing (274.9 ypg), and 3rd in total offense (512.1 ypg). It was a record year for the Longhorn offense, setting single-season marks in both points scored (652) and total yards (6,657) and in the process breaking the the 22-year old NCAA record of 624 points set by Nebraska in 1983. The team's 50.2 points per game average also marked only the fifth time in NCAA history that a team finished the year averaging over 50 points per game. In addition, the 2005 offensive squad became the first since Nebraska in 1995 to score 50 points and post 500 yards per game in a season. Other records include ranking 4th in the single year rushing yards category (3,574), a school-record three 600-yard (total offense) games, while matching the six 300-yard games in 2004---the most since 1977.
2006
Allen's departure paved the way for Dockery's entry into the starting line-up. He was also named as one of the team's Lowe's Most Improved Offensive Players. In his first career start against North Texas, he helped open holes for the UT tailbacks enough to gain 212 yards enroute to 410 total yards as the Longhorns took an easy 56-7 win. Against top-ranked Ohio State, the team was able to gain 326 total yards including 172 rushing but it was not enough to derail the Buckeyes, losing 7-24. At Rice, UT recorded 330 rushing yards output and 493 total in the 45-point blow-out over the Owls. In the Big 12 opener against Iowa State, the rushers only gained 193 yards although the team made up for it with its passing game, producing 246 yards in the 23-point triumph. Against Sam Houston State, the Longhorns focused on their passing game and gained 300 yards to finish the game with 419 yards of total offense in the 53-point win. Against 14th ranked Oklahoma, UT escaped with a 28-10 win despite only amassing 124 rushing yards and 108 yards passing. It was during this game that Dockery tore the ACL in his right knee which forced him out of the roster for the rest of his sophomore season. He underwent a reconstructive knee surgery to repair the damage and went through several months of rehab. Prior to his injury, Texas ranked sixth nationally in scoring and 19th in rushing.
2007
With rehab keeping him out during the spring, Dockery relinquished the starting right guard duties to sophomore Chris Hall. He was also chosen to be one of the recipients of the team's Frank Medina Rehabilitation Awards that year. After gaining only 117 yards on the ground during the season opener against Arkansas State, he returned to the starting RG position against 19th ranked TCU and helped Texas gain 176 yards rushing (the most allowed by the Horned Frogs in 17 games) and 415 yards total, while preventing any sack (TCU averaged about 3 sacks a game in the previous 9 games) in the 34-13 win. At Central Florida, Texas managed to escape with a 3-point win after rushing for 229 yards and recording 488 yards of total offense. Against Rice, the rushing corps accounted for 227 yards of UT's 560 total as the Longhorns cruised to a 58-14 victory. Against Kansas State, the O-line and the rest of the team had a disappointing showing as the offense was limited to 330 yards of total offense while giving up a pair of sacks in the 21-41 defeat. It was practically the same story in the 1-TD loss to 10th ranked Oklahoma as UT was limited to 61 yards rushing while allowing four sacks of 26 yards total losses. Against Iowa State, the team made up for their lackluster performance by racking up 216 and 298 rushing and passing yards respectively to demolish the Cyclones, 56-3. Against Baylor, it was a so-so performance for the line as, althogh it helped the team produce 470 yards of total offense and 177 rushing yards in the three-TD win, it still gave up 3 sacks for 17 yards loss. Against Nebraska, UT had another close call but the line did help the rushers gain 364 yards on the ground for 545 yards of total offense, including Charles' school-record 219 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, while allowing only a 3-yard sack in the 28-25 win. At Oklahoma State, Texas had to rally from a 21-point deficit and had to rush 307 yards and gain 589 yards total to escape with a 38-35 victory. Against Texas Tech, the Longhorns engaged the Red Raiders into a shoout-out and came away with a 59-43 victory after rushing for 283 yards and passing for 268 more. In the 8-point defeat to A&M, Texas were outgained 128-171 on the ground and 229-362 on the air while also allowing four sacks which led to its regular season-ending setback.
In the Holiday Bowl showdown with Arizona State, Dockery helped Texas record a school bowl best of 52 points, to go with 300 yards rushing and 474 yards of total offense in the impressive 52-34 victory over the Sun Devils. Dockery ended the season helping his team average 462.9 yards of total offense (13th NCAA), 207.5 yards rushing (17th NCAA) and 37.2 points per game (14th NCAA) to earn for himself honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades from The Associated Press. That year, the Longhorns also became just one of ten teams in the nation to rush and pass for at least 200 yards. Texas also racked up at least 400 yards in nine games and at least 500 yards in five games while aiding UT in scoring at least 30 points in nine of the 13 games. More importantly with Dockery and the rest of the O-line, Charles was able to tally 1,619 rushing yards (No. 5 on UT's single-season rushing list) for the year.
2008
Dockery returns for his senior year as one of the candidates for the 2008 Outland Trophy, an award for the nation's top interior lineman.
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason First-Team All-Big 12
- Outland Trophy Watch List
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team
2007
- Frank Medina Rehabilitation Award
- Phil Steele All-Big 12 Second Team
- The Associated Press honorable mention All-Big 12
2006
- Texas Lowe's Most Improved Offensive Player
References
- Cedric Dockery Scout.com Profile
- Cedric Dockery Texas Profile
- Longhorns guard Dockery out for season with torn ACL
