D'Brickashaw Ferguson
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Ferguson with New York Jets in 2009 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | December 10, 1983 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | New York, New York | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Freeport (NY) | ||||||||
| College: | Virginia | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
D'Brickashaw Montgomery Ferguson (born December 10, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle who played ten seasons for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Virginia and received All-American honors. He was picked by the Jets fourth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft, and was selected for the Pro Bowl three times. Ferguson made 160 consecutive regular season starts and never missed a game in his entire career.[1]
Early years
Ferguson attended Freeport High School in the Long Island village of Freeport, New York. He nearly gave up football during his freshman year in high school.[2]
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Ferguson was ranked as the No. 29 offensive guard prospect in the nation.[3] He chose Virginia over Michigan State.
College career
While attending the University of Virginia, Ferguson played for the Virginia Cavaliers football team. He started his college career listed at 260 pounds (118 kg), often dropping to 245 pounds (111 kg) through the regular season. He started 49 games for the Cavaliers, and he was named to the consensus All-America first team during his final season. He was placed on the all-Atlantic Coast Conference first team two years in a row, and he became Virginia's first All-ACC offensive tackle since 1998. Ferguson started at left tackle in four consecutive bowl games for the Cavaliers. He played linebacker on a special defensive package employed sparingly in 2003. He did this while earning a religious studies degree in only 3.5 years. He was an All-America selection in 2004 by Pro Football Weekly.
Professional career
2006 NFL Draft
Considered an undersized tackle after playing at 295 pounds during his senior year at Virginia,[2] Ferguson officially weighed in at 312 for the NFL combine.[4] As a tackle, Ferguson's talent is found in his lower body strength, athleticism and flexibility. This athleticism and flexibility is further evidenced in his attaining a black belt in Shotokan karate and brown belt in taekwondo. Adding to that ability is his natural build, as Ferguson has an armspan of 87 inches (221 cm).
Ferguson was one of six players the NFL invited to New York for the 2006 NFL Draft events. He was selected 4th overall by the New York Jets. The last time the Jets used their first pick on a tackle was 1988, when they selected Dave Cadigan of USC at No. 8.[5]
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6 in | 312 lb | 35½ in | 5.08 s | 4.85 s | 7.62 s | 30 in | 8 ft 11 in | ||||||||||||
| All values from Virginia Pro Day on March 21, 2006[6] | |||||||||||||||||||
New York Jets
Ferguson was drafted by the New York Jets with the 4th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft. On July 26, 2006, Ferguson signed a five-year deal with the team. The deal was similar to the $35 million deal that 2005’s No. 4 pick, Cedric Benson, signed with the Chicago Bears.[7] Designated as Jason Fabini's successor, Ferguson started every game at left tackle for the Jets since the beginning of the 2006 NFL season. On January 8, 2010 Miami Dolphins Tackle Jake Long withdrew from the 2010 Pro Bowl due to injuries and Ferguson was named as his replacement. He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl.
On April 8, 2016, Ferguson announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons, having made 160 consecutive starts and never missing a game. He played 10,707 out of 10,708 regular season offensive snaps in his career. In his retirement statement, Ferguson wrote, "I would like to thank every coach, every teammate, and every fan that has shown me support throughout my career. I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart."[8][9]
Personal
Ferguson's given name was inspired by Father Ralph de Bricassart, a fictional character in the 1977 novel The Thorn Birds.[2]
Ferguson's hometown of Freeport, New York, dedicated a street to him on September 29, 2009. South Ocean Avenue, where he grew up, received secondary signage as D'Brickashaw Ferguson Way.[10] His father Ed Ferguson Sr is a native of Nassau, Bahamas and his older brother Edwin also graduated from UVa.[11] Ferguson married Kirsten Speller on July 2, 2011.[12] He is also a black belt in Karate.[13][14]
Ferguson was the inspiration for Key & Peele's East-West College Bowl sketch, where Key and Peele imitate football players with humorous names and introduce themselves.[15] In the most recent version of said Bowl, real players including D'Brickashaw were used.
References
- ↑ "For the 10th year in a row, ironman D'Brickashaw Ferguson played every snap". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016.
- 1 2 3 Crouse, Karen (April 17, 2006), "D'Brickashaw Ferguson: The Family Guy", New York Times
- ↑ "Rivals100: Offensive guards 2002", Rivals.com, February 5, 2002
- ↑ Bell, Jarrett (February 23, 2006), "Combine is first stop on Bush's campaign trail", USA Today
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (April 30, 2006), "Jets Block Out the Hype and Take Virginia's Ferguson", New York Times
- ↑ "D'Brickashaw Ferguson Draft Profile", NFLDraftScout.com, retrieved January 18, 2009
- ↑ Crouse, Karen (July 28, 2006), "Martin Not Quite Ready as the Jets Open Camp", New York Times
- ↑ https://twitter.com/dbrickashaw/status/718817094117277701
- ↑ Cimini, Rich (Apr 9, 2016). "D'Brickashaw Ferguson announces retirement at age 32". ESPN. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ↑ D'Brickashaw Ferguson Street Dedication, Freeport, New York official web site. Accessed online 2009-10-26.
- ↑ "Board of Directors".
- ↑ "Kirsten Speller & D'brickashaw Ferguson".
- ↑ "D'man Behind D' Name". Sports Illustrated. April 10, 2006. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
- ↑ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1110571/index.html
- ↑ The Secret Behind Key and Peele's Football-Player Names, by Denise Martin; at New York; published September 20, 2013; retrieved December 3, 2013
External links
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