D'Brickashaw Ferguson has never been one to worry about losing weight. For him, it's been just the opposite. As an aspiring offensive lineman, he has had his own type of weight problems.
"For me, it'd be easier to lose weight," Ferguson said. "Gaining weight is a hard thing to do."
While it might have been hard for Ferguson to gain weight in high school, he's had no trouble since arriving at Virginia. When he made his first start as a true freshman, Ferguson weighed in at roughly 260 pounds. In the beefed-up world of college football it's not uncommon for offensive lineman to weigh well over 300 pounds, but anything under 280 is unheard of. Two years worth of dining hall food later, Ferguson, now a junior, is listed in the media guide at a solid 295.
For all those hoping for future offensive line glory, Ferguson has some weight gaining advice.
"You just have to make sure you're eating on a regular schedule and that you're getting your calories," he said.
Although Ferguson might approach the subject candidly, when you're in charge of protecting one of the most important players on the team, every pound and every muscle count.
"I think it's helped me a lot," Ferguson said of his weight gain. Blocking "is a test now because I don't have any excuses. I can block my defender a lot better than before."
As starter at left tackle, Ferguson's job when dropping back in pass protection is to safeguard Hagans' blind side.
"I just know that as an offensive lineman, if I make errors at pivotal moments, that it will really hurt the whole team," Ferguson said.
Since arriving on Grounds, Ferguson has benefited from facing senior defensive end Chris Canty every day in practice. Under his tutelage, Ferguson has matured from a clueless freshman into a seasoned veteran, ripe with NFL potential.
"For those two kids [Canty and Ferguson], that's a pretty good opponent that they work against all day long," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "D'Brickashaw is just a season behind [Chris] in eligibility and won't work against any more imposing players during the course of the season."
Entering this Saturday's game at Georgia Tech, Ferguson has started 36 consecutive games for the Cavaliers -- one short of tying the all-time Virginia offensive line record held by Ray Roberts. Only adding to the effectiveness of Ferguson is the experience he shares with his fellow offensive linemen. The entire unit returned intact from last year and between the five combine for 142 starts.
"I think it's good that we have more of a dominant line," Ferguson said. "We have more options now."
More options are always better, especially in the running game. Blocking for a running back is a completely different animal than pass protection blocking. Groh's love for the practice of "pulling" -- when offensive linemen leave their blocks and move downfield to lead for a running back -- is a technique few linemen can master. Pulling gives linemen the freedom to execute mind-numbing blocks downfield while opening up holes and helping to spring the backs for bigger gains.
The closest adage for the situation would be going from being the hunted, to becoming the hunter. When offensive linemen make the transformation from dropping back in pass protection to pulling downfield, it gives them the freedom to headhunt linebackers and safeties that stand in their way, a small retribution for the abuse they take on defensive blitzes.
Not only has he matured on the football field physically and mentally, Ferguson also has emerged as a noted contender on the team ... in competitive eating.
"In the past I might have been a loser, Ferguson said. "But now I might be a serious prospect."
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