Jaylon Ferguson – Noteworthy
Jaylon Ferguson is headed to the NFL’s combine next week after all. USA TODAY Sports has learned that the star defensive end from Louisiana Tech, one of the top edge rushers in the upcoming NFL draft, has been re-invited to the combine for medical exams and team interviews – yet still prevented from on-the-field drills and testing – after Ferguson’s previous invitation was rescinded after an off-the-field issue was discovered during a background check. The NFL’s change of heart – and tweaked policy – also clears the way for previously banned Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and Colorado State receiver Preston Williams to attend the combine that begins Tuesday in Indianapolis.
“Rather than having up to 32 teams travel individually in these cases, this is actually to accommodate the clubs, to frankly get the most important information – the medical exam – in one place,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, told USA TODAY Sports. Vincent recently informed clubs of the decision in a memo to general managers and head coaches, and maintained that in preventing on-field drills and testing, the players are still paying a price for off-field transgressions. Ferguson, 6-5, 269, the NCAA’s all-time sack leader, is the most notable of the players who were previously uninvited due to a league policy that banned players who were convicted of a misdemeanor or felony charge that involved violence. Ferguson was found guilty of simple battery stemming from a fight at a McDonald’s during his freshman year at Louisiana Tech. – Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
