Believing In Yourself; Ben Sahakian '26

Ben Sahakian was in a literature class at Mount Prospect High School when the news he learned while scrolling through the list of Illinois all-state football selections for 2021 sent him into the hallway for a celebratory phone call to his parents. 

Sahakian, a senior then, didn’t have to scroll very far. He saw his name under the first-team section for defensive players. Pretty good for someone who didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year of high school. More impressively, he didn’t start playing on the defensive line until his junior year. 

“You see it and you’re like, ‘Wow,’” Sahakian said. “That was a goal of mine forever.” 

That was the second set of good news for Sahakian that week. Days prior, he accomplished another goal — a much bigger one — in receiving his first Division I football offer. It came from Cornell, where his brother, Micah, had already begun his collegiate football career. Ben announced his commitment in December 2021. 

“From there forward, it was a heck of a journey,” Sahakian said. “The recruiting process is a scary time, and it’s stressful. But it’s so worth it. It’s a time you should enjoy."

Sahakian, who grew up outside of Chicago, had several interests and talents when his high school years began. He wanted to play varsity soccer, the sport he grew to love throughout his youth. He was a talented trumpeter and held the first chair in the jazz band. He joined the track and field team as a sprinter and a jumper as a freshman. 

Trying football didn’t enter Sahakian’s mind until one of the track and field coaches, who was also the football team’s defensive backs coach, suggested it. He and his brother gave it a shot at the same time. 

Sahakian joined the junior varsity team as a kicker, mostly because of his skill set and partly because of his physique back then. His brother made the varsity team as an offensive lineman and has been the Big Red’s starting right tackle for the last two seasons. 

“I was trying to fit in as the band kid who joined football,” Sahakian said. “I was 5-foot-8, 130 pounds. I was scrawny. I kicked the ball and played a little bit of wide receiver for junior varsity. I had one catch.” 

Sahakian’s days as the scrawny kicker (and seldom-used receiver) didn’t last much longer. He tried a handful of positions — mainly defensive back and linebacker — before he found his home on the defensive line. 

As a junior, Sahakian hardly made the impact he hoped to make in a COVID-19-altered season. That drove him to improve in the summer before his senior year, which he spent bulking his body and learning the game. 

“I didn’t have any accolades as a junior,” he said. “Not all-conference, not all-state, not all-area. Nothing. I was just ticked off. I was upset. That summer was the change. I gained more weight. I was faster, stronger, taller and smarter in the game. I didn’t know the game as much. I was a kicker (before).” 

Months later, Sahakian earned first-team all-conference, all-state and all-area honors, and the Defensive Player of the Year award in his conference. More recruiting attention came with those accolades, but Sahakian stuck with Cornell, the first program that took interest in him. 

“Cornell’s offer was before the all-state selection, which to me was big,” Sahakian said. “To look back on that, it’s cool Cornell was the first one. They showed belief (in me).” 

None of it would've happened without Sahakian's belief in himself. 

“I still have a lot more to do out there,” Sahakian, a sophomore, said. “I am excited. The process of being a freshman to developing and being whatever it is your senior year is something I love.” 

Embarking on a new journey brings many challenges along the way. Sometimes, betting on yourself is all it takes.