Yamon Figurs News

The Kansas State Wildcats were 5-3 when they headed to Ames to face an ISU team that had lost six straight games.

The Kansas State Wildcats were 5-3 when they headed to Ames to face an ISU team that had lost six straight games.

Height: 5-11 Weight: 180 Age: 24 Year: Rookie College: Kansas State Acquired: D3 2007 Resume: Returned 46 kickoffs for 1,136 yards for a 24.7 average as a rookie, including one 94-yard return for a touchdown.

“The combine went well and the Senior Bowl went well, so I definitely helped myself there.”

Not that long ago, it looked as if Jordy Nelson could have blown off the first day of this weekend's NFL draft and gone about his business without a care. via Salina Journal

“I feel very secure with saying he'll go in the second round”

If you're a K-State fan, you should probably get used to hearing Vann McElroy's name on draft day. via Topeka Capital-Journal

The Chiefs will try to improve one of the NFL's worst return games with a player coming off a major knee injury. via The Topeka Capital-Journal

“We brought in 11 (junior college kids) the first year -- only because we couldn't bring in a couple of guys down the stretch”

While sportstalk radio shows were besieged with calls and Internet message boards were simultaneously hopping with anticipation and speculation, the Kansas State coach was calmly explaining his recruiting ... via Kansas.com

This has been a forgettable season for the Baltimore Ravens, whose most dubious achievement might be preventing Miami's winless season. via Topeka Capital-Journal

“I have to execute what's called”

That was not a nervous laugh from Jay Feely when he was asked about the we're-running-scared pooch kickoffs in this game, though it might have been more of a tentative heh-heh than a grinning ha-ha if the ... via South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“It has been a tough year clearly, but I don't know how dramatically I've changed. If I was a good coach last year when we went 13-3, how is that different now one year later?”

In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Yamon Figurs reversed his direction and sprinted upfield for a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, manufacturing one major bright spot for the Baltimore Ravens in a ... via Carroll County Online

Indy will look to add to their lead as they take over from their own 25. 2nd 11:44 Ian Lobo Yamon Figurs, a rookie from Kansas State, takes the kickoff 95 yards to pay-dirt. 30-7 Colts 2nd 11:57 Ian Lobo Indy ... via CBS SportsLine

“I'm assuming we will be in a lot of defensive formations where we have a lot of secondary guys in the game because they run a spread offense.”

The upset.

It can be a saving grace; it can right a football season's worth of wrongs.

For Kansas State, it was the highlight of last season. Even with two lopsided losses to end the year, fans hung tight to the Wildcats' stunning 45-42 win over then No. 4 Texas last November.

Though not as equally embraced by Wildcat fans, K-State's upset of then-No. 7 Texas this season in Austin was probably more impressive. Though not an accurate gauge of the Wildcats, it was still a big victory. Read more

“Being young, you're just so excited to make a play”

Watch the football. Guide the ball into the hands. Wait for the blocks to set up. via Baltimore Sun

“Homecoming is a big, big deal.”

How many quarterbacks did Bill Snyder want? Zac Robinson, the starter at Oklahoma State, was an original commit to K-State in 2005. via Kansas.com

Height: 5-foot-11 Weight: 175 Age: 24 Year: Rookie College: Kansas State Acquired: Drafted 3rd round, 2007 Resume: All-Big 12 return specialist returned two punts, one kickoff for touchdowns, catching 73 passes ... via Carroll County Times

“I like it because, like Coach Mangino says, it's a third of the game”

Brandon McAnderson is one of the most important players on Kansas' football team, a blocking and running fullback who is in the middle of everything the Jayhawks do on offense.

But there's more to McAnderson than being a fullback. He's also a key part of KU's special teams -- and you'll never hear him whining about it.

Just the opposite.

'I love it, I love the controlled chaos,' McAnderson said. 'Those are the ultimate football plays when you do everything -- run, block, tackle, run with the ball. Those are the plays where you can lose your mind.' Read more

“I can't go in there and all of a sudden start whining. I'm going to go in there and make the corrections and attack the problems and move on.”

A week ago, Matt Stover kicked the game-winning field goal for the Ravens as time ran out to give the team a hang-on-for-dear-life victory against the Arizona Cardinals at M&T Bank Stadium.

A week ago, Yamon Figurs broke free for a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown and was named the AFC's Special Teams Player of the Week

Fortunes changed drastically for the 18-year veteran and the rookie from Kansas State yesterday in the Ravens' 27-13 loss at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Stover missed two of four field-goal tries -- the first time he had more than one miss in a game since he botched three in the 2005 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts -- and Figurs fumbled to set up a second-quarter touchdown for the Browns. Read more

“And I think most of the guys believe that, too, if not all of them.”

Until Nov. 11, 2006, Yamon Figurs was best known as a special teams ace for Kansas State. Six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns later in the Wildcats' 45-42 nationally-televised upset of then-No. 4 Texas at Snyder Family Stadium, that perception shattered.

That's what can happen when teams meet on a big stage. K-State (2-1) travels to Austin for today's rematch with No. 8 Texas (4-0),

Figurs had entered the UT game with 22 catches for 277 yards and one touchdown in 10 games. Read more

“There are guys at K-State that were here that (Guillory) might have known. Definitely with Gary and Deon there, that's a recruiting advantage.”

Bob Larson admits he doesn't know exactly what happens inside the head of a 20-year-old kid during the recruiting process. via The Topeka Capital-Journal