Professor

Carroll County Times: Westminster, Maryland

excerpt:

In the span of five minutes, wide receiver Yamon Figurs displayed the blazing speed that intrigued the Baltimore Ravens enough to draft him and he demonstrated why the team is advocating a patient approach with him.

The fastest rookie in the NFL rendered cornerback Willie Gaston’s presence obsolete Friday morning at McDaniel College, dashing past him as if he were standing still on a fly pattern to corral a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Boller.

Later, though, Figurs allowed a football to clang off the side of his helmet. He was unaware that he was running the wrong route at the time.

As the Ravens try to identify ways to incorporate Figurs’ 4.29 speed into their offense as a potential deep threat while he competes with incumbent return specialist B.J. Sams, the consensus is that his vast athleticism needs to be tempered with improved consistency and concentration.

“I’m thinking fast,” said Figurs, who clocked the best time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in February. “You have to slow your mind down and just think. I’m learning every day, watching how the vets do it and doing my thing.”

The Ravens drafted Figurs out of Kansas State in the third round fully aware that he would need seasoning.

In college, Figurs simply ran past defenders, earning All-Big 12 honors as a return specialist who returned three kicks for touchdowns.

While he caught 73 career passes for 1,141 yards and six touchdowns with two scores on reverses and a 76-yard punt return in the Texas Bowl against Rutgers to cap his college career, there wasn’t a typical benchmark for him.

Against a Texas secondary that featured two first-round draft picks in Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin, Figurs excelled. At times, though his hands were suspect to the point Wildcats quarterbacks stopped throwing to him.

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