Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Justin Ferguson Brings Toughness And Size FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY WES MORGAN D ceiver Justin Ferguson. It was choos- ing to leave his mother and home- town of Philadelphia behind the summer before his junior year that was so difficult. The 6-2, 205-pounder moved to Pembroke Pines, Fla., in order to sur- round himself with top-flight talent eciding on Notre Dame was the easy part for Florida wide re- and prove he could hang with the best. "It's still hard," Ferguson said of leaving his mother, Desiree, behind in Pennsylvania to move in with his father, Jason, in Florida. "I've prob- ably spent a week with her since I moved. "I had talked to my dad about me moving down and playing football. I called my mom on the phone and had a talk with her. If I thought it WR JUSTIN FERGUSON for 953 yards and 12 scores as a junior. Honors: Selected as Flanagan's Offensive MVP both his junior and senior seasons … Named All- in Florida, the 41st-best player in the Southeast and the No. 85 overall recruit nationally by ESPNU … Considered the No. 15 wide receiver and No. 127 overall player in the nation by MaxPreps.com and Tom Lemming … Ranked by 247Sports as a three-star player and the No. 50 wide receiver in the country … Rated as a three-star recruit, the No. 57 player in Florida and the No. 58 wide receiver nationally by Rivals.com … Evaluated by Scout.com as a three-star prospect and the No. 61 wideout in the 2012 class … Selected as the No. 11 wide receiver in the state by The Florida Times Union and the No. 41 overall prospect in the state by SuperPrep … Listed as the No. 60 player in Florida by the Orlando Sentinel. Statistics: Caught 37 passes for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior … Hauled in 44 receptions 6-2 • 205 • Flanagan H.S. • Pembroke Pines, Fla. Notable: Born on Feb. 1, 1994 … Runs a 4.62-second 40-yard dash, benches 280 pounds, squats 475 pounds and has a 39-inch vertical jump … Plans to compete in the 400-meter dash and high jump this spring for Flanagan … Wants to major in both business management and engineering. Rankings: Tabbed as a four-star prospect, the 14th-best receiver in the country, the 19th-best player Broward County by the Miami Herald and Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in 2010 … Honored with a second-team all-state nod as a senior. All-Star Games And Camps: Played in the 2012 Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Jan. 3 in Phoenix a very physical kid, a heck of a blocker. … A good amount of the field run game is getting the ball out to the receivers on the perimeter. You've got to have somebody that can hold up. Ferguson's got that strength." Flanagan Head Coach Don Simon's Comments: "They're getting a big, strong, explosive receiver. and the Dade vs. Broward All-Star Game Jan. 17 in Miami, where he registered six catches for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Broward … Selected for USA Football U-19 team that played against World team in Austin, Texas, Feb. 1, 2012. Brian Kelly's Comments: "Ferguson is a guy that really can take the top off the coverage. He's also After making the move from Philadelphia to the Sunshine State, Ferguson caught 81 passes for 1,878 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final two prep seasons. PHOTO BY JAMIE OAKES/COURTESY WAHOOS247 above average hands and instincts." Recruitment: Notre Dame was his first out-of-state offer … Visited Florida, Florida State, Florida International, among others, and took a trip to South Bend for the Blue-Gold Spring Game in mid-April … Verbally committed to the Irish May 2 … Primary recruiter for Notre Dame was receivers coach Tony Alford. Why He Chose Notre Dame: "After looking at all the schools, Notre Dame stood out the most. The He's definitely a physical player. He needed a lot of work restructuring routes and learning how to be a receiver when he came here as a junior. He picked it up very, very fast. Over three or four weeks he was able to learn the offense and was able to make the adjustments he needed. He ended up being the leading receiver down here in Broward County." Tom Lemming Of Prep Football Report: "A big, strong, athletic wide receiver with average speed and was the best thing for me, she was going to let me make that decision for myself." The sacrifice paid off for Fergu- coaches showed me a lot of love. They told me that they didn't want me, but they needed me. That really stood out to me because I didn't hear that from any other coaches." Scouting Report: Attacks the football aggressively and catches the ball at its highest point … Pos- sesses good quickness off the line and can release well … Has great vision to run against the grain and turn small plays into big gains … Can get separation from the defender and plays as though he's two inches taller … Keeps working back towards the football to get open and isn't afraid to lower shoulder to earn a couple extra yards. 2012 Projection: Every incoming wide receiver will have an opportunity to work his way into the mix in fall practices … He is the most stout of the bunch and feels he can play right away … His affinity for blocking and helping open up the running game is akin to the way Michael Floyd played later in his career. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com son, whose former team in Philly ran the ball "99 percent of the time." The wideout caught 44 passes for 953 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, following it up with 37 snags for 925 yards and 10 scores this past fall. He even brought a little Penn- sylvania toughness with him, having already spent two seasons primarily as a blocker, and lined up at safety as one of only a few at Flanagan High to play on both sides of the ball. "It definitely helped me with the physical part of playing receiver," said Ferguson, who chose Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Miami, among oth- ers. "I've got to know and think about what the safety is doing. When I think like a safety as a receiver, I know what moves to make." ✦ MARCH 2012 29