Ben Banogu Bio: Contract, Injury, College & Draft

Strength, agility, and speed are the traits that one must possess to become a good defensive end. One player that perfectly fits the requirement is Ben Banogu.

Ben Banogu is 28 years old professional American football player who started as a quarterback directing offenses; later, he switched into defensive end destructing offenses.

Currently, he plays for the NFL side Indianapolis Colts. 

Banogu is not a good player on the field; he is also good at cooking. One can find his meals in his crash course.

To find more about Banogu’s football journey and his personal life, stay with us.

Quicks Facts

Ben Banogu | Family Background 

Ben Banogu was born on 19th January 1996 in Nigeria. Currently, Banogu is playing as a defensive end for Indianapolis Colts in NFL. 

He is of Nigerian nationality. Likewise, as per the horoscope chart, he is Capricorn. 

His mother’s name is Ugochi Banogu, but the name of his father is unknown. Their small family moved to Texas when he was just 6 months old.

Similarly, Ugochi used to work different jobs to feed his children. Currently, she works as a practitioner after earning a nursing degree from UT Arlington. 

He also has four brothers named Prince, Michael, Wisdom, and David. Banogu is the second youngest among siblings.

All of his brothers went to the same high school, i.e., Prosper High School. Also, all of his brothers gravitated towards football. 

But in college, only Michael and Ben played football. Banoogu is always motivated by the support he got from his family. 

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Ben Banogu | Body Measurement & Playing Style

Being an athlete, Banogu has a muscular body. He stands 6 ft 3 inches (1.9m) and weighs around 114 kg (252 lbs). His BMI after calculating his height and weight was 31.5.

Similarly, Ben has had 9 inches and an arm’s length of 33 5/8 inches. 

During his early years, Banogu said he was slow, not strong enough. He positively took all his complaints and became who he is today.

In football, one needs to have strength and power to stop the offensive player.

After enrolling in TCU, Banogu started to get serious in the weight room and hard training. TCU gave him a competitive edge, and he became faster and stronger.

In his first year only at TCU, he lost 20 pounds. Then he got lean and cut in his body.

According to Banogu’s training formula, his training is to work or push harder until you can’t go anymore. 

Talking about his playing style Banogu has good overall awareness and athleticism. Banoigu possesses the strength and feet to work both inside and outside with pass-rush moves.

Likewise, he also has the pace to chase and takedown ball carriers in the backside. 

Thus, Bangou has the potential to become an elite defender with his strength, speed, and agility. 

Ben Banogu | High School and College Stats

Banogu started playing football when he was in 7th grade in Prosper High. In his early Banogu high school football, he was a quarterback.

Although Banogu was not the best, he was still a good quarterback. He always dreamt of being next to Tom Brady or Michael Vick. 

In his sophomore year, he broke his femur. Later missed his entire junior year because of an injury. But he always loved the process of rehab and getting back on the field. 

Change in Position

Head coach Kent Scott suggested he would be the best fit for a defensive end. Later, in his senior year, he started playing as defensive end sacrificing quarterback position. 

In his first season as a defensive end, he recorded 21 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. Later, he was named in All-district Third Team and All-State Third Team.

Likewise, in his school days, Banogu was a multisport athlete. Along with football, he was also a member of high school basketball and track & field too.

In his senior year, he was honored with All-District and All-Area in track & field.

Because of his injury, he was only regarded as a 2-star recruit. So, he only received one FBS offer others were from D2.

Although he always wanted to play at a higher level, he took the opportunity and attended the University of Louisiana under a football scholarship.

Banogu redshirted his first year at ULM. As a redshirted freshman, he played as a starter, recording 14 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.

For his performance, he earned the All-Sun Belt Newcomer Team honor.

Transfer

Later Texas Christian University offered him a football scholarship program.

Although he didn’t know anything about college or visited it, he took the offer to return home and play for the Big 12 title contender.

It was during his time at TCU he developed and transformed into the top draft prospect. At TCU, he also shifted his class routine to watch films with coaches to improve his game. 

Because of NCAA transfer rules, Banogu sat out for the 2016 season. In his return, during junior year, he became a starter for the team recording 16.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

He also earned All-Big 12 first team honor and  Big 12 Defensive New Comer of the Year. His efforts helped the team to secure a place in the Big 1 Championship game. 

During his 2018 senior season, Banogu scored his first-ever college touchdown in a home victory over Iowa State in September.

In his final year, he again earned All-Big 12 first team. Banogu finished the season with 18.0 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. 

Banogu graduated from college with a degree in risk management. He was also invited to Senior Bowl 2019 as a north team linebacker. 

Ben Banogu | Professional Career

NFL Combine and Draft

Ben Banogu showed impressive performance in the NFL combine. The player was one of the top performers in the combine.

Likewise, the athleticism and fluidity of Bangou helped him throughout onfield- sessions. 

Firstly, Ben Banogu competed for a 40m yard dash in 4.62 m. Likewise, he completed a 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drill in 4.27 s and 7.02 s, respectively.

Banogu then set the longest board jump by defensive lineman jumping 3.40m followed by a vertical jump of 1.2m. Finally, he completed 23 reps of bench press. 

Later, in the 2019 NFL draft, Banogu was selected as the 49th overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round.

He became the 47th TCU athlete to be drafted under coach Patterson since 2000. 

Professional Debut

Banogu made his debut in the season opener against Los Angeles Chargers on 9th September 2019. In his first-ever career game, he registered a half-sack.

By the end of his rookie season, he played 217 defensive snaps and recorded 2.5 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss. He climbed into the defensive end role depth chart grabbing No.3. 

First Pro Sack

Colts GM Chris Ballard said, it’s time for Ben Banogu to step further and Ben realized it too soon. After a rough first two years in NFL, Ben is all set to give a statement game.

Ben spent all the offseason training with DeForest Buckner, while also working on his skills with other trainers and teammates.

And the training has given its result way too soon to have Banogu’s name coming up with a sack during practice. 

Visits Colts 2021 | Free-agency target

The Colts are aiming high to spend immensely in free agency during the 2021 offseason and there are rumors that Kemoko Turay and Ben Banogu, tarting defensive ends are the supposed talents who fall under their target.

Mentor, Justin Houston

Well, Justin Houston, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Denico Autry are already on their list to hit free agency.

Moreover, there was news that Ben discovered an unexpected inspiration and learning from Houston. 

According to Ben, Houston is someone who is an easy fit to become his mentor and wants to forge a strong bond with him.

Also, they both come from defenses in TCU and Kansas City that allow them to do more than their potential.

They both have landed recently on the free market thus, they share much more in common.

Moreover, when they stand up at the defensive end for the Colts, they are exceptional.

Additionally, according to Ben, Khalil Mack and Von Miller are those edge-type players that can get after the quarterback and get into coverage.

Ben Banogu in Todd McShay’s first mock draft

Todd McShay who has been an analyst and commentator for ESPN had New England Patriots taking Ben from TCU with the 30th overall pick in his first mock draft. 

Actually, Bill Belichick standing to abide by McShay’s decision found a versatile edge defender in Ben Banogu.

Stats

Learn more about the player’s scouting report, game log, recruiting class, and draft projection on Bleacher’s Report, ESPN, 247 Sports, and Draft Network.

Highlights

• Two times First-team All-Big 12 in 2017 and 2018
• 2017 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year 

Ben Banogu | Personal Life and Social Media

Banogu is currently dating Ana Matamoros. She celebrated her birthday on 25th November.

Her profession is unknown, but she was a soccer player back in her high school days. She is a dog lover and has one named Manny. 

As of 2021, they don’t have children but are living a happy life. The two have already traveled to many places together, both national and international.

Both of them have photos many photos of them together traveling.

Hobbies

Banogu is not only good at football; he is also good to cook. He spends an abnormal amount of time cooking food. Because of his cooking skills, he also got a lot of attention.

Even his teammates at Colts thought he was joking at first when he offered to cook for them. Banogu got his cooking skills from his mom.

He used to watch his mom cook and later learned to cook it. So, in the future, it won’t be any surprise if Banogu opens his own restaurant, but now he is more focused on football.

During his free or spare time in TCU, he also picked up the habit of juggling. As they traveled to away games, he always thought about games a lot.

So, he practiced juggling to get his mind off these games and relax.

On his Instagram, Banogu has highlighted sections named Crash Course, where he updates photos of meals he cooked.

Likewise, he also one time uploaded a tutorial in his crash course. Later, Banogu became so perfect that he could juggle for 5 to 10 minutes, moving up and down.

He further mentions juggling helped him cope with the anxiety of playing big games. 

Ben Banogu | Salary and Net Worth

NFL is a money-making franchise in comparison to other football leagues. NFL clubs can pay good value money to their players. 

Banogu makes most of his money from playing football, but he also has endorsement deals as a being. After being drafted by Colts, Banogu signed 4 years $5,944,506 deal.

In his first year, Banogu earned $1,080,819. Later in the following season, 2020, he earned $1,351,024, and currently, in 2021, he will earn 1,621,229. 

As one of the top prospects, he also signed a multi-year deal with Nike only in his rookie season. Budlight also sponsors him. 

The exact net worth of Banogu is not published anywhere yet. According to various online sources, his net worth is around $1.5 million. 

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Social Media Presence:

Ben Banogu is quite active on social media. He usually posts videos and photos of his lifestyle, cooking, and football-related stuff on his social handles.  You can follow him via these links:

Instagram: 13.2 followers

Twitter: 7.9k followers 

Some FAQs:

When was Ben Banogu drafted?

Banogu was drafted in the 2019 NFL draft by Indianapolis Colts as the 49th pick of the second round.

What is the college stats of Ben Banogu?

In his final year of college playing for Texas Christian University, Banogu totaled 8.5 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss. He was also named in All-Big-12 First Team.

What position does Ben Banogu play?

Banogu plays in a defensive end position. He currently plays for Colts in NFL. During his early high school das he was a quarterback.

But later transitioned into the defensive end at his senior year after returning from injury.

What is the salary of Ben Banogu?

Before the start of his rookie season, Banogu signed 4 years $5,944,506 deal with Colts. He also makes earning from endorsement deals with various brands. 

What is Ben Banogu’s Madden’s 22 rating?

On Madden NFL 22, Ben Banogu has an overall Madden Rating of 69.