Benjamin Chinomso Banogu (born January 19, 1996) is a Nigerian professional American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Louisiana-Monroe and TCU.
 Banogu in 2018 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | January 19, 1996 Lagos, Nigeria | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Prosper (Prosper, Texas) | ||||||||
| College: | UL Monroe (2014–2015) TCU (2016–2018) | ||||||||
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2019 / Round: 2 / Pick: 49 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
Early years edit
Born in Nigeria, Banogu's family moved to U.S. six months after his birth.[1] He grew up in McKinney, Texas 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.[2]
College career edit
Louisiana-Monroe edit
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.[3]
TCU edit
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 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[4] 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.[5]
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.[6] He ended the season with 8.5 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss to once again be named First-team All-Big 12,[7] and helped lead the Frogs to a win over California in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.[8]
Following his senior season, Banogu graduated from TCU and was invited to participate in the 2019 Senior Bowl as a linebacker.[9]
Professional career edit
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) |
250 lb (113 kg) |
33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.62 s | 1.62 s | 2.68 s | 4.27 s | 7.02 s | 40.0 in (1.02 m) |
11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) |
23 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Indianapolis Colts edit
Banogu was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round (49th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[12] During the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Banogu recorded a half-sack in his first-career game.[13] During the Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos, Banogu sealed the 15-13 victory with his 4th-quarter strip-sack of Joe Flacco, both career-firsts.[14] In Week 12 against the Houston Texans, he brought down Deshaun Watson for a sack.[15]
Dallas Cowboys edit
On June 7, 2023, Banogu signed with the Dallas Cowboys.[16] He was released on August 29, 2023.[17]
References edit
- ^ Townsend, Brad (August 14, 2018). "Ben Banogu has undergone a meteoric rise at TCU, 'but the script's not done yet'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Ben Banogu". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ Hansucker, Adam (January 16, 2016). "ULM DE Banogu transfers to TCU". Monroe News-Star. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "2017 All-Big 12 Football Honors Announced". Big12sports.com. November 30, 2017.
- ^ "TCU Comes Back to Win Valero Alamo Bowl". GoFrogs.com. December 29, 2017.
- ^ "Late Field Goal Gives TCU 17-14 Win Over Iowa State". GoFrogs.com. September 29, 2018.
- ^ "2018 All-Big 12 Football Honors Announced". November 28, 2018.
- ^ "Frogs Overtime Winners in Cheez-It Bowl". GoFrogs.com. December 27, 2018.
- ^ "Banogu and Collier Headed to Reese's Senior Bowl". GoFrogs.com. January 9, 2019.
- ^ "Benjamin Banogu Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ "2019 Draft Scout Ben Banogu, Texas Christian NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (April 26, 2019). "Colts Select Linebacker Ben Banogu With 49th-Overall Pick". Colts.com.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (September 9, 2019). "Five Things Learned: Colts-Chargers (2019, Week 1)". Colts.com.
- ^ Ayello, Jim (October 28, 2019). "Insider: Colts' Ben Banogu bursts onto to scene with breakout game vs. Broncos". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019.
- ^ Colts Communications (November 22, 2019). "By The Numbers: Indianapolis Colts fall to the Houston Texans, 20-17". Colts.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
- ^ Walker, Patrik (June 7, 2023). "Cowboys Sign Former 2nd-Round Pick Ben Banogu". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ "Cowboys announce 36 roster moves ahead of regular season". DallasCowboys.com. August 29, 2023.