Atlas
10-08-2006, 01:27 AM
This is pretty neat. I had never heard any of this stuff.
Long road to NFL keeps safety humble
By Mike Klis
SoCals link: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_4449315
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/07/2006 04:12:40 PM MDT
"I'd like to think I'm the type of guy who thinks about others before myself. Always willing to come to the aid of those who I consider to be friends. I'm that way half because of how my parents raised me and half because that's who I am. I think people would also say I'm a jokester, a prankster. Love to have fun. Sarcastic at times, but in a jovial way." - Nick Ferguson (Post / Glenn Asakawa)Editor's note: Throughout this season, Broncos reporter Mike Klis and photographer Glenn Asakawa will help readers get to know one of the team's players on a deeper level. Asakawa's photographs will complement a weekly conversation with Klis about life, about work and about play.
No one - not even Rod Smith - overcame more adversity to become an NFL starter. One of 11 children, Nick Ferguson grew up in the projects of Miami, attended Morris Brown College, a private black college that is now all but shut down in Atlanta, before walking on at Georgia Tech. Undrafted, Ferguson was cut by three NFL teams - Cincinnati (1996), Chicago (1999) and Buffalo (2000). He played three years in the Canadian Football League and two years in NFL Europe, one as a coaching intern, before he finally stuck with Buffalo's practice squad in 2000 before breaking in with the New York Jets later that year with coach Bill Parcells.
Klis: In this locker room, there are a lot of former practice-squad guys. But then
BRONCOS WALLPAPER
Save this Denver Post portrait to your monitor screen. Click the image above. Right-click your mouse over the new, larger image. Select "Set as Background." Voila!
there's you. Your story of perseverance is motivational-speaking material.
Ferguson: I know Rod Smith was a free agent, so was Matt Lepsis. Kyle Johnson was cut by a few teams. But I think I took the longest road to get here. It's something that keeps me humble. It's not like I did it all by myself. I had some people who gave me a chance despite the opinions others had formulated about me.
Klis: How much do you owe Bill Parcells for being here today?
Ferguson: I owe a couple of people. One, Wade Phillips. He was the first person to take a chance on me by putting me on the (Bills') practice roster. Then after that it was Coach Parcells. He's one of those guys who had a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough. When people think about Coach Parcells, they think tough, hard-nosed coach. Which he is, but he's a cool guy once you get to know him. Like any coach, he respects players who work hard for him.
Klis:
Nick Ferguson is the NFL's poster boy for hard work - he grew up in the projects of Miami, walked on at Georgia Tech, spent three years in the Canadian Football League and on NFL teams' practice squads. (Post / Glen Asakawa)You have a picture there of an abandoned apartment building hanging in your locker. Don't tell me that's where you grew up in Miami.
Ferguson: That's part of the projects. They tore it down to put up condos. My teammates call it Little Beirut. I keep this picture here to remind me of where I've been.
Klis: Some of your teammates and coaches see you pull into the parking lot each day and think you're carrying this humble thing too far.
Ferguson: There are two things I get flak for around here. One, I'm accused of being too physical on the practice field when they don't think I have to be. And the other is my '96 Chevy Tahoe. (Coach) Jimmy Spencer is always on me about it. But it's the first vehicle I purchased with money I earned.
Klis: How many miles she got?
Ferguson: A little more than 177,000. All but the first 20,000 are mine.
Klis: Just being around you the past couple years, I got the sense you had a strong parental upbringing. Tell me about Dad and Mom.
Ferguson: My dad was a longshoreman in the Port of Miami. Tough job. I worked down there in the summer once. One day. Never again. My dad was a no-nonsense guy. As a kid, I hated his rules, but as a man I understand what he was teaching. He taught me you have to work hard for everything you get.
Klis: And Mom?
Ferguson: Mom was a little like Dad in that she had to be tough. When I was in high school, my mom hated football. But then the more I played, the more it grew on her. This game has done a lot for my family, not just from a financial standpoint, but it also helped bring my family together.
Klis: Your long, obstacle-filled road to NFL starter began with the trip from Morris Brown to Georgia Tech.
Ferguson: I remember bumming rides across town to Georgia Tech, trying to get myself registered, trying to apply for financial aid, trying to get their coaches to watch my film.
Klis: So Georgia Tech never had to pay to get you to play?
Ferguson: I didn't get a scholarship until my senior year with Coach (George) O'Leary.
Klis: What do you usually do when you're done here?
Ferguson: Like most athletes, I like to go home and relax. I try not to bring the game home with me. I might play some video games that are, let's just say for mature audiences only. And I might get some flak for this, but I like to watch "Seinfeld." Sometimes, laughter is the best medicine.
Klis: You went back to finish your degree in business at Georgia Tech last year. What do you hope to do when you're done?
Ferguson: Some people have mentioned coaching for me. But I'm also liking radio and TV now. I'm doing something with Alfred (Williams) and Scott Hastings on Altitude. I think this next offseason I might do some internship in that regard. I like it. It's fun.
The Ferguson file
* Safety
* 5-feet-11, 201 pounds
* Signed with Cincinnati out of Georgia Tech as an undrafted free agent in 1996; signed with Denver as free agent in 2003.
* Ranked third among NFL safeties with a personal-best five interceptions in 2005.
* Has 223 career total tackles, including a career-high 81 in 2005.
My apologies to Zona. I know how he hates these threads!!
Long road to NFL keeps safety humble
By Mike Klis
SoCals link: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_4449315
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/07/2006 04:12:40 PM MDT
"I'd like to think I'm the type of guy who thinks about others before myself. Always willing to come to the aid of those who I consider to be friends. I'm that way half because of how my parents raised me and half because that's who I am. I think people would also say I'm a jokester, a prankster. Love to have fun. Sarcastic at times, but in a jovial way." - Nick Ferguson (Post / Glenn Asakawa)Editor's note: Throughout this season, Broncos reporter Mike Klis and photographer Glenn Asakawa will help readers get to know one of the team's players on a deeper level. Asakawa's photographs will complement a weekly conversation with Klis about life, about work and about play.
No one - not even Rod Smith - overcame more adversity to become an NFL starter. One of 11 children, Nick Ferguson grew up in the projects of Miami, attended Morris Brown College, a private black college that is now all but shut down in Atlanta, before walking on at Georgia Tech. Undrafted, Ferguson was cut by three NFL teams - Cincinnati (1996), Chicago (1999) and Buffalo (2000). He played three years in the Canadian Football League and two years in NFL Europe, one as a coaching intern, before he finally stuck with Buffalo's practice squad in 2000 before breaking in with the New York Jets later that year with coach Bill Parcells.
Klis: In this locker room, there are a lot of former practice-squad guys. But then
BRONCOS WALLPAPER
Save this Denver Post portrait to your monitor screen. Click the image above. Right-click your mouse over the new, larger image. Select "Set as Background." Voila!
there's you. Your story of perseverance is motivational-speaking material.
Ferguson: I know Rod Smith was a free agent, so was Matt Lepsis. Kyle Johnson was cut by a few teams. But I think I took the longest road to get here. It's something that keeps me humble. It's not like I did it all by myself. I had some people who gave me a chance despite the opinions others had formulated about me.
Klis: How much do you owe Bill Parcells for being here today?
Ferguson: I owe a couple of people. One, Wade Phillips. He was the first person to take a chance on me by putting me on the (Bills') practice roster. Then after that it was Coach Parcells. He's one of those guys who had a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough. When people think about Coach Parcells, they think tough, hard-nosed coach. Which he is, but he's a cool guy once you get to know him. Like any coach, he respects players who work hard for him.
Klis:
Nick Ferguson is the NFL's poster boy for hard work - he grew up in the projects of Miami, walked on at Georgia Tech, spent three years in the Canadian Football League and on NFL teams' practice squads. (Post / Glen Asakawa)You have a picture there of an abandoned apartment building hanging in your locker. Don't tell me that's where you grew up in Miami.
Ferguson: That's part of the projects. They tore it down to put up condos. My teammates call it Little Beirut. I keep this picture here to remind me of where I've been.
Klis: Some of your teammates and coaches see you pull into the parking lot each day and think you're carrying this humble thing too far.
Ferguson: There are two things I get flak for around here. One, I'm accused of being too physical on the practice field when they don't think I have to be. And the other is my '96 Chevy Tahoe. (Coach) Jimmy Spencer is always on me about it. But it's the first vehicle I purchased with money I earned.
Klis: How many miles she got?
Ferguson: A little more than 177,000. All but the first 20,000 are mine.
Klis: Just being around you the past couple years, I got the sense you had a strong parental upbringing. Tell me about Dad and Mom.
Ferguson: My dad was a longshoreman in the Port of Miami. Tough job. I worked down there in the summer once. One day. Never again. My dad was a no-nonsense guy. As a kid, I hated his rules, but as a man I understand what he was teaching. He taught me you have to work hard for everything you get.
Klis: And Mom?
Ferguson: Mom was a little like Dad in that she had to be tough. When I was in high school, my mom hated football. But then the more I played, the more it grew on her. This game has done a lot for my family, not just from a financial standpoint, but it also helped bring my family together.
Klis: Your long, obstacle-filled road to NFL starter began with the trip from Morris Brown to Georgia Tech.
Ferguson: I remember bumming rides across town to Georgia Tech, trying to get myself registered, trying to apply for financial aid, trying to get their coaches to watch my film.
Klis: So Georgia Tech never had to pay to get you to play?
Ferguson: I didn't get a scholarship until my senior year with Coach (George) O'Leary.
Klis: What do you usually do when you're done here?
Ferguson: Like most athletes, I like to go home and relax. I try not to bring the game home with me. I might play some video games that are, let's just say for mature audiences only. And I might get some flak for this, but I like to watch "Seinfeld." Sometimes, laughter is the best medicine.
Klis: You went back to finish your degree in business at Georgia Tech last year. What do you hope to do when you're done?
Ferguson: Some people have mentioned coaching for me. But I'm also liking radio and TV now. I'm doing something with Alfred (Williams) and Scott Hastings on Altitude. I think this next offseason I might do some internship in that regard. I like it. It's fun.
The Ferguson file
* Safety
* 5-feet-11, 201 pounds
* Signed with Cincinnati out of Georgia Tech as an undrafted free agent in 1996; signed with Denver as free agent in 2003.
* Ranked third among NFL safeties with a personal-best five interceptions in 2005.
* Has 223 career total tackles, including a career-high 81 in 2005.
My apologies to Zona. I know how he hates these threads!!