FAYETTEVILLE — Katie Ridgeway first had the thought that her son, John, would eventually find himself in the NFL when he began taking football seriously in the eighth grade.
The NFL Draft, the most anticipated three-day stretch of the calendar year in the sport, has arrived. Should Ridgeway hear his name called as expected, the moment will not only prove his mother’s long-ago hunch correct but alter the family’s life for the better.
It would also validate all of the work and every decision Ridgeway has made to this point in his football career, including leaving the familiarity and comforts of home and Illinois State for Arkansas in 2021.
In one season with the Razorbacks, he impacted winning, helped the program create its most successful season in a decade and made a name for himself. Now, he is hopeful for an opportunity to do the same with a professional franchise.
According to ESPN, he is the 138th-best available player in the draft and No. 8 defensive tackle, and NFL.com projects Ridgeway as a fourth- or fifth-round selection.
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“A lot of people didn’t really give me a lot of respect coming from Division I-AA going straight to the SEC,” Ridgeway said. “They were kind of like, ‘Oh, maybe he got lucky. We don’t have a lot of film on him, but he’s a good talent.’ I kind of used that when I went to the Senior Bowl.
“I just tried to display my dominance on them and show them that I am a top-100 draft pick and really good interior D-lineman.”
Ridgeway enjoyed his time at the NFL Scouting Combine and learned a lot throughout the process, both in meetings and drills as well as through his mistakes and those of other participants. He described the experience as a grind, filled with long days, early mornings and dashes of anxiety.
He walked away confident that he put his best foot forward. He ran 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.73 seconds. But there is more to the combine than the on-field work.
“It was fun. I talked to all the coaches again,” Ridgeway said. “They did a lot of informal interviews. A lot of it was the same thing (as the Senior Bowl), just seeing how you are as a player, person, if you fit their scheme, their locker room.
“I feel like I did very well in my interviews and displayed myself in a very good way. I’m excited for the future.”
An advantage of transferring to Arkansas beyond playing on a national stage, he added, was being afforded the chance to perform at a showcase like the Senior Bowl. There, Ridgeway could further display what he is about and make lasting impressions on those with clout, and he did.
During one day at the event, he was the first player on the field as rain fell. Ridgeway simply wanted to get to work and increase his stock. The conditions were an afterthought.
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“I do this every day rain or shine,” he said. “When it came to playing the inside run or in team, I wanted to show no one could block me. I’m going to make sure I can do everything I can that if the ball is coming my way I’m going to tackle them. (I was) making sure I’m letting people know if I have a designed gap, I’m going to stay in that gap and no one is going to come through it.
“I’m not going to throw up some impressive number in the 40. I’m going to show you what I’m about when it comes to football and show you I can move well as a D-lineman and as an interior guy and that I can press the pocket.”
Ridgeway’s father, John, believes his son is on a mission to prove himself each day.
“He wants it. He has that blue collar, I’m going to go out and get it mentality,” John said. “That’s what he’s supposed to do, so that’s what he does every day. Kind of like a guy going to work.
“He’s just there to clock in and do his job.”
According to NFL.com, Ridgeway has a prospect grade of 6.1 out of 8.0. His figure indicates a projection of “good backup with the potential to develop into a starter.”
The tackle’s strengths, per draft analyst Lance Zierlein, are adequate pad level facing double teams, long arms and big hands, and “better reactive athleticism than expected when a runner tests his gaps.” On the flip side, he is seen as more of a mauler than technician with his hands and a player who ends up on the ground too often.
ESPN’s Steve Muench regards Ridgeway as a stout run defender who locates the football well but lacks foot speed and closing burst to reach the quarterback.
Asked at Arkansas’ Pro Day about feedback from NFL teams, Ridgeway spoke positively about what he had been told. He referenced tidbits on his strength and ability to push offensive linemen off the line of scrimmage.
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“They said for how big I am that I’m really balanced. A lot of guys that are as big as I am are usually sloppy or can’t move as well on their feet,” he said. “I display that in drills.”
John summed up his son’s playing style succinctly.
“He wants to bull rush everything he can,” he said. “I think he’s got it in his own mind that he’s bet himself that he can't pick somebody up and drop them or something.”
Ridgeway finished 10th on the team in 2021 with 39 tackles and added 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in 12 games. He did not play in the season opener against Rice after undergoing an appendectomy, but in his first appearance as a Razorback he tallied 6 tackles and 1 sack in the 40-21 win over then-No. 15 Texas.
He had 7 tackles in a loss at No. 1 Georgia and 5 in the regular-season finale vs. Missouri. His second sack of the season came in Arkansas' 16-13 win at LSU on Nov. 13.
Opting to leave the Razorbacks and an extra season of eligibility on the table was a difficult decision, Ridgeway said. He appreciated, though, that teammates understood he was doing what was best for him.
“I’m sure if they were in my shoes they would have done the same thing,” he added. “I’m just glad I could leave on good terms and the coaches welcomed me (back) with open arms.”
Senior Bowl executive director and former NFL scout Jim Nagy said in late November that Ridgeway was one of the top risers in terms of overall draft stock and at his position.
“He’s really one of the only defensive linemen in this draft that has true knock-back ability at the point of attack,” Nagy said, according to The Associated Press. “You see this guy come off the ball and he can lock people out, throw them and get to the football. And I always like guys with a wrestling background.
“He just knows how to position himself. He’s one of the best defensive tackles in this draft in terms of holding up double teams and recreating the line of scrimmage. He’s a big-bodied man that’s hard to move.
“Those guys are hard to find.”