#99

John Ridgeway

Former defensive lineman at Arkansas. 2021: 2 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 39 tackles.

DL · Arkansas · Sr. · #99

6′6″ · 325 lb · Bloomington, IL

CFB Index 28 · #220 of 274 interior linemenLow confidenceDallas — drafted 2022, Rd 5, Pick 35, #178 overall

The story

Former defensive lineman at Arkansas. 2021: 2 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 39 tackles.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Illinois State in 2017.
Transferred from Illinois State to Arkansas in 2021.
Drafted round 5 by the Dallas in 2022.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

OT recruit

No. 2358 nationally · Signed with Illinois State

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

One season at Arkansas, 2 sacks — drafted at #178 overall by Dallas.

His career

He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.

2017

Signed with Illinois State2-star out of Bloomington

202111 games

Entered the portal

2022

Drafted by Dallasround 5, pick 178

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#2358 national

CFB

College

Arkansas

2021

NFL

NFL Draft

R5 · #178

Dallas · 2022

Where He Ended Up · NFL

DallasEntering 5th NFL season

#178Rd 5 · Pick 35

DallasEntering 5th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2021Arkansas9-4HC: Sam Pittman · Run-heavy

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

28Below cohort / limited sample #220 of 274?

Low confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Sacks#529 / 2743 · 78th pct

2.0

Tackles for loss#794 / 2743 · 69th pct

4.0

Tackles#973 / 2743 · 64th pct

QB hurries#827 / 2743 · 59th pct

Solo tackles#1896 / 2743 · 29th pct

Passes defended#1695 / 2743 · 19th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	3.7	0.4	0.1	0.0
Road4g	3.2	0.2	0.2	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.0	0.5	0.2	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	3.0	0.2	0.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Ryan Silverfield

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Starter

Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

28 · #220 of 274 interior linemen

Two-star recruit. Now #220 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Arkansas	39	11	4.0	2.0	--	--	--
Career		39	11	4.0	2.0	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2021

W 20–10

vs Texas A&M

1 QB HUR · 0 TFL · 1 TOT

With K. Jefferson — 212 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 92.6 · 50 rush yds (8 car) · R. Bauer — 40 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 45 LONG

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 2	W 40-21vs Texas	6	3	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 3	W 45-10vs Georgia Southern	4	0	1.0	0.0	—
Wk 4	W 20-10vs Texas A&M	1	0	0.5	0.0	—
Wk 5	L 0-37@ Georgia	7	0	0.0	0.0	—	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 6	L 51-52@ Ole Miss	2	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 7	L 23-38vs Auburn	4	1	0.5	0.0	—
Wk 8	W 45-3vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff	2	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 10	W 31-28vs Mississippi State	4	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 16-13@ LSU	3	2	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 12	L 35-42@ Alabama	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	W 34-17vs Missouri	5	3	0.0	0.0	—
Total		39	11	4.0	2.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology