Now, however, during a time out on the sideline as the Blue Raiders were knocking on the door of the endzone. And head coach Rick Stockstill had a message for him.
They were going to throw the defensive end the ball.
"The whole time everyone was like 'oh, Ferg about to get the ball, catch the ball! Catch the ball.'" Ferguson recalled. "I was like 'Relax, relax! Don't put extra pressure on me.' But I was excited, we've been practicing it, I've been ready to run it."
Mike DiLiello took the shotgun snap on fourth down, feinted like he was going into the pile for the first down, before popping up and floating the ball to Ferg, who was easily past the first down marker.
Known pass-catcher Jordan Ferguson makes it first down and leads to the second Blue Raider touchdown of the game.@JoFerg__ | #EATT pic.twitter.com/hRV0ayIUf2
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) November 13, 2021
Stockstill said post game he thought Ferguson could've made it into the endzone with a little bit better pass. The captain's thoughts?
"Maybe, but then again, I think three people were coming at me, so I don't know," Ferguson laughed. "But, to play H-back, tight end in college, it was a dream come true. I'd love to do it again."
That play is merely the most prominent of a package that is the Blue Raider offense's not-so-secret weapon in short yardage situations. Where offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon calls on Ferguson, Zaylin Wood and Marley Cook to all check in as tight ends on the play, and pull, lead block, or just push to give their guys that little extra effort to move the chains, or get into the endzone.
"All three of those guys are explosive," Dearmon said. "Explosive out of their stance, explosive hip guys. A couple of them were state champion wrestlers or powerlifters in high school. Because of the explosive ability they have in their hips, it's the reason why those guys can come in and do those things."
In some cases, the defensive line trio is not even a stranger to blocking — Cook said he had to "take out his retired o-line jersey" from high school to prepare for his role. Dearmon usually doesn't have them line up in a traditional o-line role, of course. Typically, he's had at least two of the trio line up as an h-back in the backfield, serving more as lead blockers, while whoever is third in the set lines up in a true tight end position.
And it's been effective. Middle Tennessee was 4-for-4 on fourth down against the FIU Panthers, in large part because the "Heavy D" package, as the trio has been nicknamed, generated so much push up front to give their teammates space to get those crucial short yards.
"They know we're going to get a first down," Cook said of the offense when the "Heavy D" comes in. "Every time."
It was a package born out of necessity in some respects, Dearmon said, due to the lack of true tight ends on scholarship when he came in last spring. That was the first time when the coaching staff started to scheme up some ideas on how to use these three players in particular on the offensive side of the ball. For the offensive coordinator, it takes him back to his old job under Les Miles at Kansas, where he learned from the former LSU coach's Heavy package concepts each week.
"We've kind of been able to expand it and add a play or two every week," Dearmon said. "It takes me back to my roots from last year of being with Coach Les Miles. And that's what he was. I would spend one day a week with him usually, planning goal line stuff, and we'd watch some old LSU tape. That's what it makes me think about, getting in that 32 personnel and creating new ways to create gaps. It's been fun.
"We actually look forward to the day that we plan the heavy package more than we do anything else. And those guys have been buying in."
It certainly hasn't gone unnoticed among the MT Football Family. Blue Raider Radio Network Color Analyst, and former Blue Raider standout, Wes Counts, wore a custom hoodie to call last Saturday's game against Old Dominion, which had a logo entitled "Heavy D" Offense, with Wood, Ferguson and Cook's names and numbers across the bottom.
The job's not finished though. And with Dearmon continuing to tinker with what the Heavy D can do, it's possible maybe even Cook or Wood could be the one catching passes in the season finale in Boca Raton this weekend. A priority for any of them? No, but it's something that they're willing to buy into if called upon.
"I'm not a selfish guy," Wood said with a smile. "I'll play my role and let Ferg catch it fifty more times."
"Zaylin might be the one, I might be the one, you never know," Cook said. "Anything to help the team out."
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“Anything to help the team out” — 'Heavy D' Package gives goal line boost to Blue Raiders - GoBlueRaiders.com
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