Ego Ferguson (born September 22, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He was also a member of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Early life

A native of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, but raised in Mims, Ferguson originally attended Saint John's Catholic Prep in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

, before transferring to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, for his senior year of high school. Regarded as a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Ferguson was ranked as the sixth best strong-side

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

prospect in the class of 2010, behind top-ranked prospect Jackson Jeffcoat and third-ranked prospect William Gholston. Ferguson was ranked seventh-best defensive end prospect in the country by Scout.com. After official visits to

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, Notre Dame,

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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Ferguson committed to the LSU Tigers to play

under head coach Les Miles.

College career

At LSU, Ferguson was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a true freshman. After two years as a backup, Ferguson replaced Bennie Logan at the right

position. Ferguson announced on January 3, 2014 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL draft. Ferguson earned honorable mention All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors as a junior in 2013.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

On May 9, 2014, Ferguson was drafted in the second round by the

with the 51st overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract on May 13, 2014. Ferguson made his NFL debut on September 7, 2014, versus the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. In 2015, Ferguson appeared in four games before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a knee injury. On November 12, 2015, Ferguson was hit by the NFL with a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy for performance-enhancing drugs. Ferguson was waived/injured and placed on injured reserve before the start of the 2016 NFL season after sustaining a shoulder injury in the Bears' preseason finale that required season-ending surgery. On March 31, 2017, Ferguson was released by the Bears.

Green Bay Packers

On April 3, 2017, Ferguson was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived by the Packers two days later after a failed physical.

Detroit Lions

On June 8, 2017, Ferguson signed with the

. On September 2, 2017, he was waived by the Lions.

Season statistics

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Ego 1991 births Living people People from Mims, Florida Players of American football from Brevard County, Florida American football defensive tackles LSU Tigers football players Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players Detroit Lions players Saint John's Catholic Prep (Maryland) alumni