Ryan Kerrigan
Bio
Career: 2007 – 2010
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 263
Hometown: Muncie, Indiana
High School: Muncie Central High School
Career Stats
Games Played: 48
Games Started: 35
Tackles: 210
Tackles For Loss: 57
Sacks: 33.5
Notes
High School
- 3 Year Letterwinner
- Also played baseball and basketball
- 2006
- First team All-State as a senior (90 tackles, 19 Sacks)
- Defensive Lineman of the Year in Indiana
- Pulled down 40 receptions for 789 yards as a tight end.
- Rated as a 3* prospect and the number 3 overall prospect in Indiana by Rivals
- 2005
- First team all-state as a junior (67 tackles, 14 sacks)
- Pulled down 27 receptions for 443 yards and 2 touchdowns as a tight end
Purdue
2007
- Appeared in 12 games
- Recorded 6 tackles vs Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl
2008
- Started 11 of 12 games
- Recorded 3 tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, vs Ohio State
- Recorded 10 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, including 3 sacks vs Michigan, and forced a fumble
2009
- Started all 12 games
- Lead Big 1o and was 3rd in the nation with 13 sacks
- Led the nation and tied the Purdue single-season record with 7 forced fumbles.
2010
- Started all 12 games
- Led the nation in regular-season tackles for loss, with 26 T.F.L’s
- Finished second in the nation with 5 forced fumbles
- Finished third in the nation in sacks (12.5)
- Led the Big 10 in tackles for loss, forced fumbles, and sacks
Purdue Records
- First in career forced fumbles with 14 (tied for all-time FBS record)
- Tied for second in sacks (33.5)
- Fifth in tackles for loss (57)
Purdue Awards
2008: Honorable mention All-Big 10 – Media
2009
- Second Team All-American – Rivals
- First Team All-Big 10 – Media
- Second Team All-Big 10 – Coaches
- Ted Hendricks Award watch list
- Purdue MVP – Defense
2010
- Unanimous First-Team All-American
- Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year
- Big 10 Defensive Lineman of the Year
- First Team All-Big 10
- Runner up for the Ted Hendricks Award
- Semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award
Highlights
Hammer and Rails Staff
Drew:
Ryan Kerrigan was one of the best players in the history of Muncie Central, Purdue, and the Washington Commanders. He’s going to end up in the Hall of Fame (or equivalent) for every team he was a part of during
his football career.
That’s crazy to think about.
What might be even crazier is that he was a unanimous All-American on a bad 2010 team. Blocking Ryan Kerrigan consumed the first four pages of the opposing coaches’ game plan, plus a tight end and an offensive tackle on the field. Entire offenses were geared up to stop Kerrigan, and he still put up 26 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. Folks, he did all of this playing college football on the hard setting. It’s hard to fathom the damage he could have done to college football if he played for a team with a little more talent (granted, Kawann Short ended up being an elite defensive tackle as well). In Purdue’s 2010 16-27 loss to Michigan, Kerrigan racked up 10 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks; Purdue still lost. Such was the futility of the Danny Hope era.
Watching Kerrigan dominate a game Purdue was otherwise losing made the Hope era of Purdue football tolerable; my only regret is that he didn’t have a chance to play on a good Purdue team.
