Colts DE Ben Banogu reflects on rookie season, preps for Year 2 with old TCU workouts
Ben Banogu has no complaints with how his rookie season went with the Indianapolis Colts. He finished with 2.5 sacks, including a game-sealing strip-sack of Denver Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco on the final play of a Colts 15-13 victory in October.
But the TCU product is eager to take another step forward in Year 2 of his NFL career. Despite the unique offseason amid the coronavirus pandemic, Banogu has been working on his pass rush techniques and becoming more physically fit to make a bigger impact.
“It’s been a weird offseason, but I think you can still take that step,” Banogu said. “It’s just how you prep and how you get ready, what you’re doing in your spare time. I think I’ve been doing everything right, working on all the stuff I need to work on and my pass rush game.
“I’ve learned that I’m not really a talker. That’s not me. I’m more of a doer. I just like to go out there and do it and prove myself that I’ve worked my butt off and reap the rewards of my hard work.”
For Banogu, part of his work has been going back to his college offseason workouts. Along with doing what the Colts have laid out for their players, Banogu is relying on TCU strength and conditioning coach Don Sommer’s workout plans.
Why? The proof is in the results.
Banogu had three sacks as a freshman at Louisiana-Monroe in 2015 before transferring to TCU. With the Frogs, he posted 8.5 sacks his junior and senior seasons, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors both seasons.
“It worked out for me in college physically, so that’s something I’m trying to get back to and trying to incorporate in my workouts,” Banogu said. “My body feels great. I haven’t felt this good for a while. Once we all get back in camp, we’ll see who all has been working and who all has been ‘kind of’ working.”
Banogu said he has trimmed his body fat down to approximately 8% and weighs 247 pounds. That should help him maintain his performance level throughout the season.
“I felt like at times last season I was walking around with cinder blocks,” Banogu said. “So I decided to change my diet up a little bit, lost body fat. I’ve been moving faster. I feel more agile, more flexible, so I’m excited to see how everything I’ve been doing translates to the field.”
Banogu would love to produce more moments such as sacking Flacco to end the game. It was a play reminiscent of Banogu’s college days, just a relentless pursuit of the quarterback who was trying to keep a play alive as long as possible.
“That play was a lot of cover and rush and rush and cover,” Banogu said. “The DBs really helped me out a lot. I just did what I usually do. I’m a guy who loves to run around and hustle to the ball. I took advantage of my opportunity.”
The most memorable game from his rookie season, though, came the following week at Pittsburgh. The Colts lost and Banogu didn’t have a sack, but the atmosphere at Heinz Field stood out.
There were more than 61,000 fans waving the “Terrible Towels” and, in hindsight, that served as Banogu’s “Welcome to the NFL” moment.
“They were rowdy that game,” Banogu said, chuckling. “That was the first time I played an away game in an atmosphere like that. It was really cool.”
Outside of reflecting on his rookie season and preparing for the upcoming season, Banogu has picked up a couple new hobbies this offseason. He’s found a passion for golf as well as flying a drone gifted to him by Colts linebacker Anthony Walker.
Oh, and he and his girlfriend have a hot air balloon ride planned for the Fourth of July.
“I always try to do something super cool that caters to my adrenaline,” said Banogu, who spends his offseasons in North Texas. “That’s something that will be cool to do. After that, I’ll be getting ready to head to Indy and preparing for the football season.”
