The Dallas Cowboys brought home a local product on Wednesday. Former TCU standout, Ben Banogu, who grew up six miles from The Star, signed with Dallas.
Born in Nigeria in 1996, Benjamin Chinomso Banogu, attended nearby Prosper High before playing at Louisiana- Monroe and then TCU.
He recorded 156 tackles and 20 sacks during his collegiate career. Over a quarter of his tackles, 45, were for losses.
Drafted In The Second Round By The Colts
He was a 2019 second round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts traded down three picks with Cleveland before drafting Banogu.
At 6-3 and 250 pounds, with a 40-speed of 4.62, Bagonu was listed as an Edge player at the combine that year.
He was listed as a linebacker his first three seasons before officially moving to Edge. Banogu played in 50 games for the Colts. He never started a game and spent most of his time on special teams.
In his rookie season, Banogu played in all 16 of the Colts’ regular season games. He recorded 11 tackles, seven solo, and 2.5 sacks.
Banogu had three tackles for a loss and five quarterback hits. He was also credited with a pass defended and a forced fumble.
A Two-Year Sophomore Slump
The following two years he would only play in nine games in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He would finish with six tackles — two solo — in 2020. In 2021, he would only have two tackles and a quarterback hit.
Banogu rebounded slightly in 2022 with the move to Edge. He played in 16 of the Colts’ 17 games. He recorded 10 tackles, three of them solo.
Banogu was on the field for a total of 554 snaps on defense and another 352 on special teams during his 50-game run in Indianapolis.
His season high for snap counts came in 2019 when he played 271 snaps on defense and 27 on special teams. He was limited to 138 combined snaps in 2020 and only 103 in 2021.
In 2022 he saw action on 115 plays on defense and another 232 on special teams. He has never played in a postseason game in his NFL career. He became a free agent in March.
Sealed A Win With A Sack
His career highlight so far came on Oct. 27, 2019. Playing the Denver Broncos at home, and leading 15-13 with 17 seconds remaining, Banogu sealed the victory for the Colts.
Banogu sacked Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco. The hit forced a fumble that was recovered by Denver. But time ran out before they could get off another play.
The move brings the total number of players on the Cowboys roster to 89. They remain one player under the 90-player roster cap as they get ready to head for Oxnard.