Jaylon Ferguson was an incredibly talented football star, both in college and during his time in the NFL. He was a third-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, according to CBS Sports. Before the NFL, he was a starter and dynamic player in college at Louisiana Tech. In 2018, he was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned first-team All-C-USA honors twice.
During his time at Louisiana Tech, he set the record for career sacks (45) for the Football Bowl Subdivision. He was given the nickname “Sack Daddy” as a result. Prior to the 2019 draft, some drama followed him from college. In his freshman year, he was reportedly arrested for fighting at a McDonald’s, which led him to be disinvited to the NFL Combine, according to TMZ. People on social media began fighting that Ferguson deserved a chance and the NFL eventually caved, causing them to invite him to the Combine after retracting their invite. He told the outlet that the drama and attention would probably help him get picked higher in the draft. After all, it really got his name out there.
Ferguson was set to continue playing for the Ravens during the upcoming NFL season, which would have been his fourth with the team. The late linebacker appeared to be healthy, despite a recent injury that occurred the week before his death. According to sports reporterJonas Shaffer, he suffered a sprained ankle during the Ravens’ three-day minicamp. However, he was still set to attend training camp, which will begin in late July. During his time with the team, he lived up to his nickname with 67 tackles.