Ben_Banogu
Ben Banogu
Nigerian-born American football player (born 1996)
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: | (1996-01-19) January 19, 1996 (age 28) 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 PFR | |||||||||
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]
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.[3]
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 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]
| 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
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
On June 7, 2023, Banogu signed with the Dallas Cowboys.[16] He was released on August 29, 2023.[17]
- 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.