The rookie’s Thanksgiving hurdle highlight was pure instinct. The locker room loved it but would like him to stay on the ground from now on. | From @ToddBrock24f7
As a four-year player at Wisconsin and the grandson of legendary Badgers ex-coach Barry Alvarez, Jake Ferguson has no doubt participated a time or two in the school’s wildly popular “Jump Around” game day tradition.
In just his 11th game with the Cowboys, the tight end proved before a record-setting nationwide audience that he can still get up. But hopefully fans enjoyed it, because it may not happen again.
Ferguson turned in one of the more memorable moments of the Cowboys’ 28-20 Thanksgiving Day victory over the New York Giants on a fourth-quarter play that started with a leaping fingertip grab and only got better from there.
Before it was all over, Ferguson had picked up a first down, gained 30 yards, and absolutely trucked Giants cornerback Rodarius Williams. But it was the full-body hurdle of six-foot-tall safety Jason Pinnock that had everyone talking about the fourth-round rookie’s obvious athleticism.
Jump around, indeed… although Ferguson admitted that the move was pure instinct and that he hadn’t tried it on a football field before.
“Never,” he told reporters after the game Thursday. “Cleared somebody? Never.”
The hurdle helped Ferguson notch the team’s longest play from scrimmage on Thursday and was the longest reception of his young but promising career.
His Dallas teammates and coaches were plenty impressed, even if they hope it was a one-time demonstration.
“I was just teasing him in the locker room,” head coach Mike McCarthy said in his postgame press conference. “I had a great view of it. I said the only reason why he didn’t try to jump over the second guy is because he was so damn tired from jumping over the first guy. But yeah, you can get away with that once or twice. He needs to drop his pads more.”
“I loved it,” wideout CeeDee Lamb raved. “I loved it, I loved it. Don’t get me wrong: he’s got to stay on the ground. My man just messed up his knee; he’ll be all right. But good play by him.”
Ferguson’s hurdle did come after a scare with an apparent left knee injury suffered earlier in the game. The rookie’s been dealing with a knee issue for most of the season, though it hasn’t caused him to miss any games thus far.
The 23-year-old stepped in and saw extensive time, in fact, in Weeks 3 and 6 as franchise-tagged starter Dalton Schultz nursed injuries of his own. But the rookie has fit right in, both on and off the field, as one-quarter of a talented and energetic tight ends room that saw them all combine for a clever Whac-A-Mole celebration after Peyton Hendershot’s touchdown versus the Giants.
“We have to keep getting those guys involved,” quarterback Dak Prescott said of the position group that also includes Sean McKeon. “It was fun to see them get that Whac-A-Mole. I think that just speaks on the personality of the room and how much fun they are having, enjoying their jobs.”
For the tight ends themselves, it’s all about having fun and making contributions. Ferguson, Schultz, and Hendershot are among the seven Cowboys who have logged double-digit receptions this year. All three have been on the field for over 30% of the offense’s snaps. And Ferguson’s two scoring catches have him tied for second on the team.
“You can’t have enough six-four, 250-pound men on your football team,” McCarthy explained. “I’m a big fan of the tight end position. Frankly, next to the quarterback, it’s the most demanding position as far as job responsibility. There’s involvement in the run, the protection, and the pass. It’s been very useful for us this past month.”
But Schultz says within the group, it’s more about their relationships with each other than competition against each other. (Case in point: Whac-A-Mole was Ferguson’s idea, to be executed no matter which of the four tight ends actually scored on the play.)
“That’s what it is. It helps set the tempo in our room. Our meetings are always engaging, always fun. We’re always learning something new. We have a group that complements each other’s skillset really well. To come out and have the production like we did today,” Schultz said Thursday, “that was awesome.”
The Cowboys tight ends will look to build on that production down the home stretch of the season… though Ferguson says he’ll likely look to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground, even after one giant- but unexpected- leap for tight endkind.
“That will probably be the last time I jump this year, because now guys will be going high, and it sets people up a little bit. But I don’t really know how to explain that one.”
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