Defensive line, Arkansas (from Illinois State), 2017–21
John Ridgeway
Lettered 2021 (school media guide)
- Number
- No. 99
- Height
- 6′6″
- Weight
- 325 lb
- Class (2021)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Bloomington, IL
- Born
- May 7, 1999
John Ridgeway played defensive line at Illinois State (2017–19) and Arkansas (2021). The Dallas Cowboys took Ridgeway in round 5, No. 178 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
8tackles, career highat Northern Illinois, 2019Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Illinois State | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019* | Illinois State | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | Arkansas | 39 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 51 | 15 | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Illinois State | 99 | DL | Fr. | ||
| 2019 | Illinois State | 99 | DL | So. | ||
| 2021 | Arkansas | 99 | DL | Sr. | 6′6″ | 325 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2021 Arkansas 11 games, 39 tackles, 2 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11 | vs. Texas | W 40–21 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 18 | vs. Georgia Southern | W 45–10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 25 | vs. Texas A&M | W 20–10 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2 | at Georgia | L 0–37 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 9 | at Ole Miss | L 51–52 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 16 | vs. Auburn | L 23–38 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 23 | vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 45–3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | vs. Mississippi State | W 31–28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 13 | at LSU | W 16–13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 20 | at Alabama | L 35–42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 26 | vs. Missouri | W 34–17 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 Illinois State 1 game, 8 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | at Northern Illinois | L 10–24 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
No box score in the source for Sep 7 vs. Morehead State; Sep 14 at Eastern Illinois; Sep 21 vs. Northern Arizona; Oct 5 vs. North Dakota State; Oct 12 at Southern Illinois; Oct 19 at Western Illinois; Oct 26 vs. Indiana State; Nov 2 vs. Northern Iowa; Nov 9 at South Dakota State; Nov 16 vs. Missouri State; Nov 23 at Youngstown State; Nov 30 at Southeast Missouri State; Dec 7 at Central Arkansas; Dec 14 at North Dakota State, so those games are not listed.
2018 Illinois State 1 game, 4 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | at Colorado State | W 35–19 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
No box score in the source for Sep 1 vs. Saint Xavier; Sep 8 vs. Eastern Illinois; Sep 29 at Missouri State; Oct 6 vs. Western Illinois; Oct 13 vs. Southern Illinois; Oct 20 at North Dakota State; Oct 27 vs. South Dakota State; Nov 3 at Northern Iowa; Nov 10 at Indiana State; Nov 17 vs. Youngstown State, so those games are not listed.
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2022 Senior Bowl (American team, lost 10–20).
| Drill | Combine 2022 | Combine or pro day 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′5⅛″ | |
| Weight | 321 lb | |
| Arm length | 33⅜″ | |
| Hand size | 10″ | |
| Wingspan | 81⅜″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 5.30 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.81 s | |
| Vertical jump | 28″ | |
| Broad jump | 8′5″ | |
| Bench press | 25 reps | |
| 3-cone drill | 7.90 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.73 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
5 seasons, 43 games with a stat; latest team: New Orleans Saints.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Washington Commanders | 12 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Washington Commanders | 14 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | New Orleans Saints | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | New Orleans Saints | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 43 | 74 | 0 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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