Interview with Louisiana Tech EDGE Jaylon Ferguson

Prospect Summary

Pass Rush – Ferguson is an absolute beast when rushing the passer. With a wide array of moves, being able to rush from a 2 or 3-point stance, and great power moves, Ferguson should have no problem being an effective edge rusher in the NFL.

Run Defense – Has no problem filling his gaps and doesn’t get pushed back by linemen. Great length to be able to get hands on runners from a good distance away.

Character – Ferguson was a captain this past season for Louisiana Tech. I haven’t heard any negatives about his character from anyone else and during the time that I spent speaking to him, he was nothing but respectful.

Background – For those of you that don’t know, Jaylon Ferguson had his NFL Scouting Combine invite rescinded yesterday (2/13/2019) because of a battery charge from a fight that occurred in 2014. Ferguson finished his college career with 187 total tackles, 67.5 tackles for a loss, and the NCAA career record 45 sacks. He’s a potential first-round pick in this year’s draft.

The Interview

Brandon: What is your reaction to having your combine invite rescinded?

Jaylon: Being invited then uninvited… I respect the NFL, and rules are rules but at the same time I feel like since this incident happened 5 years ago and everybody knew about it already so I’d rather have not been invited than to be invited then uninvited. This was going to be my first time meeting a lot of people but now those people won’t get to see me. I want young players to know that somebody’s always watching so even when you think somebody isn’t watching, there’s always somebody watching.

Brandon: What is going to be your response when NFL teams ask about the arrest?

Jaylon: It was in camp in 2014. The reason that the issue just got resolved in September was because the other person wouldn’t report to court so it kept getting pushed back. I walked into the station on my own, I came back, went to school and graduated. I didn’t go to jail or anything, I went to school and got my degree. All I can do right now is keep on training and get ready for my pro day.

Brandon: How does this whole situation impact your draft prep?

Jaylon: It gives me a couple of more weeks of training to improve for the pro day. I’m gonna have a great pro day and hopefully have a few teams visit.

Brandon: How would you describe your play style?

Jaylon: I’d say that I’m violent, a speed-to-power guy, and I have very good, active hands.

Brandon: Which player would you say your model your game after the most?

Jaylon: Khalil Mack, I try for that speed-to-power like him and he’s got a really great long arm. He’s one of the best pass rushers in the game.

Brandon: Do you have a preference rushing with your hand in the dirt or standing up?

Jaylon: I’m more a hand in the dirt type guy

Brandon: How do you feel about the common knock of “small-school” guys playing against worse competition? Even Khalil Mack came from the MAC.

Jaylon: We have the same level of competition, we have 5 straight bowl wins, you don’t get that by being bad or playing weak competition.

Brandon: Why do you think you were just a three-star recruit coming out of high school?

Jaylon: I was skinny, man. I was just a skinny kid when I was coming out but now I’m about 270.

Brandon: How much did going to a small school push you to work harder?

Jaylon: It definitely pushed me harder, coming from a smaller school I had to put in a lot of more effort to get noticed by people and because of that I have a chip on my shoulder.

Brandon: This is a really strong EDGE class this year, what is it that you think sets you apart from the other guys?

Jaylon: My production. The numbers don’t lie. I had two really good dominant seasons and I perform at a pretty high level of competition against big schools, including a strip-sack vs LSU.

Brandon: How did that feel playing well against the Louisiana school vs LSU?

Jaylon: It felt great, we could play with anybody if we really put our minds to it, it was great for our confidence going forth for the rest of the season to be able to go out there and compete.

Brandon: Were there any players that you were really looking forward to playing against before the season?

Jaylon: No, there wasn’t really anybody in particular. I’m just excited and ready to play against NFL-level competition.

Brandon: Which would you say was your most dominant game this season?

Jaylon: I’d have to say the UTEP game, North Texas, and Miss. State. (Jaylon had 3.5 sacks vs UTEP, 4 sacks vs North Texas, 3 TFLs 2 sacks vs Mississippi State)

Brandon: What’s your training schedule like?

Jaylon: Every day I’ll wake up at 8 to get started training at 9 and then we’ll go until 1 PM.

Brandon: Do you watch football or just play it?

Jaylon: I just play. When you do it all the time that’s how it is sometimes.

Brandon: If you can tell us, which NFL teams are interested in you that you know of?

Jaylon: I’m just excited to be able to go out there and play NFL football.

Brandon: Good luck out there, thanks for giving me the time.

Jaylon: Thank you for the opportunity.

For more of Jaylon Ferguson, follow him on Twitter @JayFerguson45 or Instagram @Sack_Daddy_