Trent Ferguson’s improbable journey to Oregon Ducks scholarship after 4 football games

Coaches believe the West Salem (Oregon) senior has the size and athletic ability to play on Sundays: ‘There is no ceiling’

The play that transformed Trent Ferguson’s life forever was one he’d executed thousands of times. 

It was March 2022, and Ferguson — who’d just completed his sophomore season at West Salem — rose to block a shot off the backboard at an AAU showcase basketball tournament in California.

He landed on the shooter’s foot, and the heel joint in his left foot popped.

Ferguson crashed to the floor, looked at his foot bent sideways, and thought immediately about all the physical therapy he would have to complete to get back on the court and resume the recruiting process that joining this all-star team was supposed to tip off.

Not for a split second did he think that 18 months later, he’d be one of the top offensive line recruits on the West Coast, accepting an offer from the University of Oregon in April. 

As he looks back at the whirlwind his life has experienced since that fateful moment, it still boggles his mind a bit. 

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy,” Ferguson said after the Titans’ 49-14 victory over Grants Pass on Thursday. “It’s a blessing, for sure. When I first fell and dislocated my heel, I would never have thought that a year later, I’ll be committed to Oregon to play football. But it just worked out that way.” 

* * *

Shawn Stanley spied this gigantic figure walking the hallways as school started in the fall of 2020 and approached him.

The Titans football coach knew better than to push Ferguson too hard about trying out.

“Football is not for everyone, even giant people,” Stanley said. “And I am not a high-pressure guy, so I just kept in touch with him, built a relationship and really would just check in with him occasionally.”

It wasn’t that Ferguson wasn’t intrigued about seeing how he would do on the football field. However, in consultation with his parents, Joe and Chandra, he never played youth football, and he politely declined Stanley’s entreaties about turning out when he arrived at West Salem.

“There was always a concern about head injuries and that kind of thing,” Chandra said. “But Trenton has always put lots of time and energy into basketball. He loved basketball, and my husband played basketball in college, so he was really focused on that.”

When Ferguson started his physical therapy to rehab his heel injury, he hit the weight room — mostly bench press and arm curls, since he couldn’t put any weight on the left foot.

With Chandra serving as his spotter and putting the weights on the bar for him, Ferguson made the trip every day for four months. During that time, he grew from 250 pounds to 290 — but it wasn’t fat from sitting on his butt feeling sorry for himself, but lean muscle.

Meanwhile, he and Joe watched the NFL draft combine and saw other 6-foot-7, 290-pounders with impeccable footwork and immense strength put through their paces, and Dad had a change of heart. He gave Trent the green light to turn out for football that year.

“He says, ‘If you want to play football, you’ve got my blessing,’” Ferguson said. “And I was super excited because I’ve always secretly wanted to play.”

The first Stanley heard of Ferguson’s decision was when Chandra emailed him to ask about the registration process. Soon, word had spread, and Ferguson’s phone blew up with texts and instant messages welcoming him to the program.

* * *

Although Ferguson had signed up, he still wasn’t cleared to play as his heel continued to heal. Finally, midway through his junior year, he was given the OK to start practice.

He couldn’t wait. First, though, he needed help putting on his pads and fitting his helmet.

Then, the coaches threw him onto the field as a defensive tackle. He lined up against the scout team offense, and the ball was snapped.

“I go straight forward, and they both grabbed me, pushed me, pulled me straight on my face, run right past me, and the running back scores a touchdown,” Ferguson recalled, a grin creeping across his face.

“They were all encouraging me: ‘Get up. You’re good; you’re good!’ But I got pulled on my face by two JV O-linemen. But I always knew I’d have to learn the hard way. I’m going to have to get pulled on my face, get beat up, before slowly learning how to play.”

But Ferguson proved a quick study, which was something Titans offensive line coach Josh Beckett noticed right away.

“He’s a tell-him-once kid — you tell him once, and he learns it really quick,” Beckett said. “Obviously, he’s a huge body and has God-given talent, but he’s an extremely bright kid.

“The biggest thing for him was just understanding the game concepts. He came to us as mostly a basketball guy understanding basketball rules. You’re setting screens where your feet have to be in place. On the football field, you’re essentially setting screens for people, and your feet can still be moving, so it’s kind of a big adjustment.”

Still, after getting in the minimum number of practices, Ferguson shrugged off the chance to play in a JV game. Instead, he was thrown right into a varsity game against crosstown rival Sprague, starting at right tackle alongside senior Jackson Colyer, who slid to guard to accommodate Ferguson.

“I would not be in the position I’m in right now if it wasn’t for Jackson helping me out,” Ferguson said. “He was so good to me. He taught me footwork and how to pick slide. Each play, he’s talking to me through every single block. I didn’t know any of the plays. I’d paid some attention during the whole time, so every single play, he’s like, ‘You’ve got 28 up to 54. OK? Ready, set, hike!’”

The plan, Stanley said, was to have Ferguson take a few snaps to get his feet wet as he gained experience.

“But he did so well, we just let him keep rolling,” Stanley added.

* * *

Three weeks after his debut, Ferguson, Colyer and the rest of the Titans played host to Sheldon in the finale of a 1-8 season. The Irish, who would go on to play in the 6A state final, featured several players whose fathers were assistant coaches at the University of Oregon — including then-offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, whose son Nikko was a junior three-star cornerback recruit.

Ferguson lined up against SBLive Oregon defensive player of the year Teitum Tuioti and all-state defensive end Josh Merriman, and he held his own against two of the state’s top pass rushers, not allowing a sack to either player.

Unbeknownst to Ferguson, the Ducks coaches were taking note of his play.

“I didn’t see any of the scouts, but I just went as hard as I can,” Ferguson said. “That’s the first thing Coach Beckett ever told me — ‘If you don’t know the play and don’t know what’s going on, the first person you see, just hit them and drive them as far as you can, and I won’t get mad.’

“So, that type of mentality, every single time, I’ve got to go hard. I didn’t know any technique, so I’d just try to drive the guy into the ground. I was like, ‘Well, I’ll put it on my highlight film, send it to them, and maybe they’ll see.’”

They did more than see. Coach Klemm called and invited Ferguson to visit campus and attend the Ducks’ game against Washington two weeks later.

Ferguson remembers what happened next as if it were yesterday.

“During the game, we’re walking behind the Duck Walk, and Coach Klemm was like, ‘Hey Trent, come over here,’” he said. “‘It’s so nice to meet you. I watched you play a game, and you know, you don’t see a lot of guys with your size and your athleticism. I want to pull the trigger and offer you a full-ride scholarship.’”

Ferguson just stared at Klemm, in shock at what had just transpired.

“And he was like, ‘You look like you don’t believe me!’” Ferguson said. “But he just caught me out of the blue.”

It didn’t surprise Stanley when he heard from Ferguson what happened.

“I told him he could be a Pac-12 lineman when he was a freshman,” Stanley said. “That size and athletic ability is rare. Match it with who he is as a person, and I think it’s easy to project what he can become.”

Later that day, Ferguson met with head coach Dan Lanning in his office, then announced the offer on Twitter — and started to learn about the world of football recruiting.

“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “Like even going into warmups, having some of the cameras on me, there’s definitely some pressure on me. People know I’m committed, but for me, it’s about preparing every single day to get better each week. Because, you know, this is still my eighth football game ever.”

* * *

After the uproar of activity following his four-game stint on the football field died down, Ferguson still had a couple of months of rehab to get his left foot fully healed. As a result, he missed most of his junior basketball season, returning in time to play in the Titans’ two 6A state playoff games.

In the spring, he played lacrosse for the Titans’ North Valley League champions, joking that he’s probably the biggest attacker in the state.

Then, it was back to work on the gridiron, tagging along with West Salem junior quarterback Kaden Martirano on his trips to Vancouver to train with Big 12 Performance and join their 5-on-5 program. There, Ferguson got a crash course in pass protection against some of the Northwest’s best pass rushers.

“It was really rough,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times dudes put moves on me I’d never seen and got thrown into the bag, put on my butt. Someone would run past me, and Coach would be like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Coach, I don’t know. I’ve never seen that move. What am I supposed to do?’

“So, they get us in these tight shirts — I don’t know why they have to be so tight — and you get out there and you’re in pass pro. No pads. You’ve just got your mouth guard and this little foam helmet, facing guys who’ve been playing their whole life, and that was huge for me. It was exactly what I needed.”

And when Ferguson arrived for camp in August, the Titans coaches could tell the difference his summer work had made to his game. 

“There are so many details and technical parts to being an offensive lineman,” Stanley said. “Some people think it is just about pushing people around. But the defender is inches from your face, and you have to make decisions immediately. So, I think he is still learning, and nothing teaches a player like game speed.”

In Thursday’s win, there weren’t many mistakes, but when there were, Beckett would pull him aside for a quick word, with Ferguson listening intently, interjecting a word or two, then nodding.

“He can play,” Martirano said. “The way he plays, I’m speechless. He does everything. He works hard. He protects me. There was no pressure on me tonight. Trent did awesome. The whole line did great.”

“I mean, we’re working on improving everything with Trent,” Beckett added. “It’s like the tip of the iceberg. He’s like this kid who is a big, giant body, and he’s just learning, still making some of those mistakes that are part of the learning progression for young players. His ceiling isn’t going to be reached for four or five years.”

* * *

So, what is the ceiling for a prospect who is No. 6 in the most recent 247Sports statewide rankings but is still an uncut diamond, waiting for a skilled craftsman to turn it into a sparkling gem?

“As long as he stays healthy, he’s got the body to play at as high a level as there is,” Beckett said. “You know, in two or three years, he’ll be a totally different player. When they get him in the weight room at Oregon, it’s going to be unreal. And he moves incredibly well for being a guy his size.

“But his biggest gift is his mind, his ability to learn quickly, to be coachable. So, as he learns and gets better at the game and learns the speed of it, I mean, there is no ceiling. He could go as far as you can go.”

Stanley notes that because of Ferguson’s late start to playing the game, “he does not have the wear and tear of playing his whole life. Most college freshmen have eight or nine years of experience, but also wear and tear. His size, athletic ability, character, physicality, intelligence, a great teammate — it is very rare.

“A lot has to happen, but he checks the boxes to play on Sundays someday.”

Ferguson laughs when he considers everything that must happen to get to that point. He’s still in awe at what’s happened in such a brief period.

“Sometimes, you think a door closes in your life, and it can seem depressing, when as an athlete, that’s all you have, is just playing basketball all the time,” he said. “Just understanding that sometimes when God closes the door, He opens a window.

“I could have spent that time feeling bad for myself, not gotten in the weight room, gotten fat, stayed the same size and never gotten this opportunity. So, I feel like, for other athletes who are injured, understanding that taking that time, doing what you can, is really important. Just working and having faith.”

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More Oregon high school football: 

What we learned in Week 4

Media polls: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A

State leaders: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A

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-- René Ferrán | rferran.scorebooklive@gmail.com | @SBLiveOR

Photos by Leon Neuschwander