Benjamin Chinomso Banogu (born January 19, 1996) is a Nigerian professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive end. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Louisiana-Monroe and TCU.

Early life

Born in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, Banogu's family moved to U.S. six months after his birth. He grew up in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

attended nearby Prosper High School, where he played football and basketball for the Eagles, in addition to participating in track & field. On February 4, 2014, Banogu signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Louisiana at Monroe on a football scholarship.

College career

Louisiana-Monroe

Banogu redshirted during his first season at ULM, but became a starter for the Warhawks as a redshirt freshman in 2015. He recorded 5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss to earn a spot on the All- Sun Belt Conference Newcomer Team, but chose to leave the program after the season.

TCU

After transferring to Texas Christian University in January 2016, Banogu sat out the 2016 season and forfeited his sophomore year of eligibility due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

transfer rules. He became a starter for the Horned Frogs as a junior in 2017, totalling 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss, earning First-team All-Big 12 honors and helping lead the Frogs to the program's first-ever berth in the Big 12 Championship Game and a win in the 2017 Alamo Bowl over Stanford. Banogu scored his first collegiate touchdown during his senior season on a 47-yard return of a fumble recovery in a home win against Iowa State in September 2018. He ended the season with 8.5 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss to once again be named First-team All-Big 12, and helped lead the Frogs to a win over

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl. Following his senior season, Banogu graduated from TCU and was invited to participate in the 2019 Senior Bowl as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Banogu was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round (49th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. During the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Banogu recorded a half-sack in his first-career game. During the Week 8 game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, Banogu sealed the 15-13 victory with his 4th-quarter strip-sack of Joe Flacco, both career-firsts. In Week 12 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, he brought down Deshaun Watson for a sack.

Dallas Cowboys

On June 7, 2023, Banogu signed with the Dallas Cowboys. He was released on August 29, 2023.

References

External links

Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks bioTCU Horned Frogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banogu, Ben 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Lagos Players of American football from McKinney, Texas People from Prosper, Texas Players of American football from Denton County, Texas Nigerian players of American football American football defensive ends Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players TCU Horned Frogs football players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players