One of our readers from the faculty at Darden tipped me off to a neat story catching up with former UVA Football All-American left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who went back to school after his 10-year NFL career to study nursing, and earned his degree from Thomas Jefferson University last month.
Ferguson, 41, was a four-year starter at the height of the Al Groh era, and was the fourth pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, spending his entire career with the New York Jets, earning three Pro Bowl nods.
Retiring from football at the age of 31 left a void.
“I needed a new identity,” Ferguson said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I needed something that would allow me to serve my greater community in a unique way. After talking with my mom, primarily during that COVID period, she suggested that I take a look at nursing.”
His mother, Rhunette, is also a nurse, as was his grandmother, so he’s following in their footsteps.
Ferguson started out with an internship with the strength and conditioning staff with the Jets after his retirement in 2015.
That piqued his interest in the medical field.
Ferguson, who graduated from UVA in 2006 with a religious studies degree, needed to enroll in community college to complete class prerequisites for a nursing degree.
There were awkward moments there at the start.
“I remember one of my classmates once said, ‘Oh, today’s my birthday.’ I was like, ‘Happy birthday! How old are you?’ She’s like, ‘I’m 18.’ At the time, I think I was maybe like 39 or 38, and she’s like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s my mom’s age.’ In that moment, I felt very old,” Ferguson said.
Now with his nursing degree, Ferguson, who, according to Spotrac, earned $72.6 million in his 10 years in the NFL, is applying for jobs in nursing, the aim being to get on the job to be able to continue to develop his skills.
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Chris Graham
