New York Jets alum D’Brickashaw Ferguson never was your “average” NFL player.
The University of Virginia grad was the Jets first-round pick in the 2006 Draft. He made 160 consecutive regular season starts and played 10 seasons at left tackle before retiring after the 2015 season. The 6-6, 310 pounder was a three-time Pro Bowler.
He established the eponymous D’Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation in 2007 to improve the quality of life for students, primarily in the New York area. The Foundation awards academic scholarships and provides other resources to each student’s pursuit of higher education.
Now 39 years old, the Long Island (NY) native has been looking for a new challenge. He recently took courses at a community college as the first step in applying to nursing schools. He is finished with those courses and now has enrolled in one nursing program for the Fall semester.
The religious studies major at Virginia was not certain he would be up to the task of preparing for nursing school.
“I hadn’t taken science since high school,” says Ferguson, who is in the Jets Ring of Honor. “My confidence in the space was like ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ UVA was hard for me.”
Ferguson has not decided what type of nursing he plans to pursue, but his options include being a nurse practitioner or preparing for a position in urgent care.
“I wanted something more that I could offer my community,” he explains about his latest pursuit. “Yes, I played football, but I wanted to be able to say I have accomplished something else after my career.”
Our NFL alumni ranks have included medical doctors such as Dr. Dan Doornink, Dr. John Michaels, Dr. Mark Adickes and several others. We congratulate D’Brickashaw Ferguson on his goal of obtaining a nursing degree in order to begin a career in helping others. He is showing once again that there is nothing “average” about his young life.
