(April 21, 2006) -- Once you get past his unusual name and the story behind it, you're pretty much left with a basic, meat-and-potatoes story in D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
So let's start with the meat, potatoes, fish, poultry and other food that the former offensive tackle from Virginia has consumed in great quantities -- but always sensibly -- since the end of the college season.
Ferguson once was seen by most NFL scouts as having every key ingredient necessary for a long and successful pro career, except for one: he was too light. He has since gotten much heavier -- thanks to changes in his eating habits and intensive strength and conditioning work -- to the point where personnel evaluators throughout the league are universally satisfied that he is among the top three prospects in the draft.
D'Brickashaw Ferguson started all 49 games he played in and missed two due to injury.
That would not have been the case early in Ferguson's career at Virginia, when he carried 260 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame. He still dominated opponents, but that was at the collegiate level. He knew that would never be enough for him to make it as a tackle in the NFL, where 300 pounds is a minimum requirement for offensive tackles.
"I felt I would have an advantage with the additional weight and size," Ferguson said. "And I didn't think it would hurt my movement."
It didn't.
Ferguson is up to about 312 pounds and still moves better than any other offensive tackle -- and most of the other offensive linemen and many players at other positions -- in the draft.
He has a staggering seven-foot wingspan that allows him to keep defenders away and strength to control them. He is a superb run blocker, but the primary reason he is expected to be chosen near the top of the draft is because of his off-the-charts pass-protection skills that he greatly enhances with exceptional footwork, which was developed at Virginia.
"I have had great coaching from Ron Prince (former Cavaliers offensive line coach and coordinator who is now head coach at Kansas State) and (Virginia coach) Al Groh," Ferguson said. "I'm technique-oriented and I try to work on my fundamentals."
Ferguson is widely considered to be one of the very best offensive tackles ever to emerge from the college ranks.
"I'm a beast," he said. "I see myself as a bodyguard. I'm personally responsible for the health and welfare of my quarterback, and I'll do anything in my means to protect them."
Ferguson's nickname, "Brick," is appropriate for multiple reasons. One, of course, is that he helps form a brick wall of sorts from his offensive tackle position. Two, it is a natural adaptation of his name, which was inspired by Richard Chamberlain's priest character, Father Ralph de Bricassart, in the 1983 TV miniseries The Thorn Birds.
In the coming years, Ferguson's name should be memorable as he establishes himself as a fixture on an NFL team's offensive line.
"They don't get much more impressive than him," Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Tom Modrak said. "A big character guy who has got a lot of talent. There isn't a team in the league that couldn't use a player like him."
Most projections have Ferguson going second or third overall, but he doesn't spend a whole lot of time pondering where he will end up.
"Just getting the opportunity to play in the NFL would be a dream come true for me," he said.
