Personal information | |||||||||
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Born: | Lagos, Nigeria | January 19, 1996||||||||
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 | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
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.
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]
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]
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] |
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]
On June 7, 2023, Banogu signed with the Dallas Cowboys. [16] He was released on August 29, 2023. [17]
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