There have been "Sizzle" (Terrell Suggs), "Slash" (Adalius Thomas) and a great deal of flash (Ray Lewis, Ed Reed). 

For the most part, Ravens draftees have come from the biggest schools, carrying the longest resumes and the most outsized reputations.

Not this year.

With one notable exception, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith, taken in the fifth round, the Ravens' seven-man draft Class of 2007 is a workmanlike, borderline obscure bunch. The team's first selection, Auburn guard Ben Grubbs, is a self-proclaimed "country boy" who comes from a town of "2,000 people with no Wal-Mart or McDonald's."

With their first pick, the Ravens went for guard Ben Grubbs out of Auburn. (Sabina Moran/PressBox)

This Friday and Saturday at the Owings Mills training complex, the draftees and roughly 15 to 20 undrafted free agents will take the field for the team's annual two-day rookie minicamp. It's a time to get used to the dugout, not for hitting home runs -- not yet, anyway.

But despite the lack of name recognition, the Ravens still feel they have a solid lineup.

"I think we hit a lot of doubles and singles, we scored a lot of runs and we won the game," said scouting director Eric DeCosta after last weekend's draft marathon. "[General manager] Ozzie Newsome gave me a sheet of paper -- and I said this last year, too -- with our team needs and what we want to address. We have a personnel meeting and we come out of it with different things. For me, in formulating the draft, particularly from January on, that's really critical and I use that. When I'm watching players, I try to find the best players in the draft who fill needs. That's what we wanted to do. 

"I'm proud of the way we stacked the board and got our players lined up so that we can get a guy at good value. When he's the best player at his position, it's a slam dunk. I think we did the best we could, given the circumstances and I think we got better today." 

NEWSOME CROSSES THE LINE
For Newsome, the Ravens' first pick (29th overall) was meant to keep the team's guard up. In the process, the stoic, savvy general manager let his guard down.

Newsome is a proud Alabama graduate -- so proud, in fact, that throughout a dozen mostly successful drafts, he had never taken a player from his alma mater's archrival Auburn. That all changed when the Ravens selected Grubbs.

"If you can't beat 'em, you draft 'em," Newsome said.

However, the rebuilding of the Ravens' offensive line is no laughing matter, considering the unit is caught in a no man's land between championship experience and a young, versatile foundation for the future.

In fact, Grubbs might not have been selected by Baltimore if San Francisco hadn't engineered a trade to move one pick ahead of the Ravens to take Central Michigan tackle Joe Staley. But in Grubbs, the Ravens got a 6-foot-3, 315-pounder who is a two-time All-SEC first-team selection and a first-team All-America pick.

"When we talk about a Raven-type player, he fits the mold," Newsome said. "He's been a starter, can play both right or left guard, very good in the run game or pass game, so we're very excited. But I'll probably catch a lot of flak in Tuscaloosa for a while."

Grubbs is more than happy with the team that picked him up. "The Ravens are one of my favorite teams," he said, "and they have one of my favorite players growing up, Ray Lewis."

The Ravens' draft room phone was ringing during a first round in which five trades took place in the latter half of the round. However, Newsome informed all possible trade suitors that Baltimore was staying put and exercising the first of its eight scheduled picks.

Playing left guard, Grubbs made 38 consecutive starts in the nation's most rugged conference. In all but four of those games, he had at least one downfield block, getting to the linebackers with speed and agility. In 27 of those games, a Grubbs block directly resulted in a touchdown.

What is most amazing is that in 2,331 snaps, he was called for an accepted penalty only four times. For his career, he allowed just three sacks and seven pressures of his quarterback.

During the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February, Gurbbs ran the 40-yard dash in 5.20 seconds and bench-pressed the standard 225-pound weight 29 times. He also posted a 26-inch vertical jump.

"He's one of my favorite players in the draft," DeCosta said. "All the qualities you want in a guard, that's what Ben has. He passed every single test. Fall scouting, All-Star games, everything we wanted him to do, he passed with flying colors."

It's likely the Ravens will want to run more screens, traps and draws with a younger, more mobile line. Grubbs is perceived as a contributor to that sort of varied scheme.

"I know I can bring athleticism to the table," Grubbs said. "I'm very quick and powerful and I can do well in space. I can make pretty much any block. No one out there works harder than I do. I have a lot of intelligence and I can pick up any scheme."

Despite Grubbs' assets, how the Ravens' line will be configured is anyone's guess; a feasible combination probably won't be decided on until training camp, at the earliest.

"We have an advantage in that [guards] Jason Brown and Chris Chester have also played center," Newsome said. "We're just going to have [offensive line coach] Chris Foerster put the best five guys out on the field. We'll take minicamp, training camp, put them all in a hat and see how it comes out."

For Newsome, it took a lot of flexibility to cross over to the dark side and draft an Auburn Tiger. But if Grubbs can help the Ravens be successful, it will have been worth it.

"He's familiar with Alabama and Auburn," Grubbs said of Newsome. "He knows the guys that come out of Auburn are hard workers."

That, more than anything else, will make Newsome proud, even as he swallows his Crimson Tide pride. 

TRADING ONE, GETTING TWO
The offensive line rebuilding project could have continued in the second round, but a couple of roadblocks got in the way.

Baltimore had originally been scheduled with the 61st overall pick, near the end of the second. But when center Ryan Kalil (USC) and guard Samson Satele (Hawaii) were taken at 59 and 60 by Carolina and Miami, respectively, the Ravens traded out of Round 2 and into the third, where they originally did not have a selection.

That was the first of two late Saturday moves that netted Kansas State return specialist Yamon Figurs as well as Iowa guard/tackle Marshal Yanda. The Detroit Lions were the Ravens' trading partners in the transaction that brought Figurs to the team, and three picks were dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Yanda deal.

After trades, the Ravens were able to draft Kansas State return specialist Yamon Figurs in the third round.  (Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics)

As a result of the two trades, the Ravens' six-pick haul on Sunday was reduced to four, all of them compensatory picks that could be traded. The team ended up with two fourth-round selections and one each in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Figurs is a 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver/returner who ran two punts back for touchdowns last season. As a receiver, he hauled in 28 passes, three of them for touchdowns.

He is seen as insurance in case incumbent B.J. Sams, facing a May 15 retrial for DUI charges, is suspended by the league.

Despite his off-field problems, Sams was seen as one of the team's most valuable contributors before a broken leg ended his season.

"If Figurs is returning for us opening night against Cincinnati, then he's beaten out a very good player," DeCosta said. "The competitive aspect with the competition we just brought in, I think that's going to affect us immediately from that standpoint."

At the combine in February, Figurs ran the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.30) of any of the more than 300 players in attendance.

Figurs was a junior college standout at Garden City Community College, hauling in 25 passes for six scores. He then scored once on a kick return and two on punt runbacks while at Kansas State.

Yanda also began his career in the juco ranks, earning All-Region honors at North Iowa Area Community College.

After moving to the Hawkeyes, where he played for former Ravens offensive line coach Kirk Ferentz, Yanda allowed just 5.5 sacks and three quarterback pressures in 1,695 offensive snaps.

Yanda showed the versatility the Ravens are looking for along their line, starting four games at left guard, five at left tackle and 16 at right tackle. He was drafted as a tackle, but could be moved to guard depending on how camp works out.

"We're very young and they are athletic," DeCosta said of the unit. "The group that we've been able to bring in over the past two or three years is able to play more than one position, they're light on their feet, they're tough and they're smart. They should be good this year and I would think they should be even better next year. I've learned from Ozzie that players get better when they get here. 

"Looking at a guy like Jason Brown, the progress he made from his rookie season to this past season was astronomical. If Chris Chester makes that same leap and Adam Terry improves, we'll be in very good shape."
 
DAY 2: HARD-HATS AND HEISMAN
The Ravens' fourth-round picks followed the lead of the rest of their draft, solid but not spectacular.

With the first of their two compensatory picks in the fourth round, Baltimore selected Florida International outside linebacker Antwan Barnes, a 6-foot-1, 240-pounder who has good sideline-to-sideline speed and can be an instant contributor on special teams in the mold of veteran linebacker Gary Stills.

Barnes started 38 of his 45 games at FIU, where he was a two-time first-team selection in the Sun Belt Conference. Besides his linebacking duties, Barnes also played strongside defensive end during his junior season.

For his career, Barnes registered 57 tackles for losses and 224 total stops, broke up five passes and recorded 23 quarterback sacks.

At February's Scouting Combine, Barnes ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds, vertical-jumped 35 inches, broad-jumped 10 feet and two inches and bench-pressed the standard 225-pound weight 31 times.

Three picks after the Ravens took Barnes, they filled their long-documented fullback need and gained a measure of revenge for Newsome at the same time.

The Ravens returned to Newsome's roots with the acquisition of Crimson Tide fullback Le'Ron McClain, a bruising, 6-foot, 260-pound lead blocker who helped Alabama average 123 rush yards per game in his senior season.

"Now they'll let me back in the state," Newsome said.

McClain started 29 of his 48 career games at Alabama, carrying the ball only 37 times due to his blocking role. However, he has been stopped behind the line of scrimmage just once in his four-year career.

Like any NFL rookie, McClain will have to earn his keep on special teams, where he recorded eight career tackles on punt coverage, using his 4.94 dash speed.

McClain boasts a bench-press high of 340 pounds and a 31-inch vertical leap.

Given Justin Green's offseason knee surgery and the lack of any other genuine fullback on the Ravens' roster, McClain could have a good shot at starting right away. However, Baltimore could very well employ a predominant one-back set this fall with the trade pickup of the versatile Willis McGahee.

The selection of Heisman winner Smith -- the first winner of the award to be drafted by Baltimore -- was the most eye-opening of the weekend.

He will be the second Heisman winner to play for the Ravens, following 1986 winner Vinny Testaverde.

"The Baltimore Ravens play as a team," said the 6-foot, 225-pound signal caller. "I bring a fierce competitiveness to the field, but I am willing to learn from everybody on the field. Even though I am a Heisman Trophy winner, I'm just another guy. I'm not above anyone."

The Ravens had Smith in for a visit before the draft but were further moved to take him after fielding a phone call from his college coach, Jim Tressel. Newsome related that Tressel felt Baltimore would be a good fit for the quarterback. 

"When they called my name, my family went crazy and I went crazy," Smith said. 

Smith was 25-3 as a starter with the Buckeyes and won two Big 10 championships, as well as the seventh Heisman in school history. At Glenville High outside Cleveland, he was a teammate of eventual Buckeye colleague and Miami first-rounder Ted Ginn Jr. The pair played under coach Ted Ginn Sr.

Besides the Heisman, Smith also won All-America first-team honors, the Walter Camp National Player of the Year award and the Davey O'Brien Award.

Yet, he was still available with the Ravens' fifth round compensatory selection.

"That didn't matter to me," Smith said. "It never occurred to me. Criticism is going to be there the rest of my life. I've learned that it will make people stronger or put people under."
 
BACK TO DEFENSE
The Ravens' final piece of business was to draft Michigan linebacker Prescott Burgess with their sixth-round compensatory pick.

"What we ask of our inside linebackers," DeCosta said, "is that they have size, which Burgess does. He runs well and he's a thumper. He can blitz and play in coverage."

Burgess won honorable mention All-Big 10 honors two straight years playing at the weakside position, although the Ravens would like him to back up Lewis and Bart Scott at the inside positions.

Even though he played linebacker for the Wolverines, the Prep Football Report ranked him second nationally among high school safeties. He also contributed on special teams while at Ann Arbor.

"When we put on film this year, Eric told me, 'Why don't you just start with the Michigan defense?'" Newsome said. "You just knew there would be about five or six guys that we would definitely be interested in."

Burgess and fourth-rounder Barnes were the only two defensive players in the eight-member Raven draft class. DeCosta pointed out that, in his view, the draft was stronger overall on offensive players than on defense.

"The offensive line, especially," he said. "We had young, athletic guys, and guys that played more than one position, tough and smart."

With a tough, smart draft class like this one, it doesn't really seem to matter that the charismatic, big-name player wasn't a feature in this bunch.

"I went and looked at our board before [we picked Burgess]," Newsome said. "It's one of those things where you're picking at the bottom of the first round and you don't have a third round pick, so you come into the draft with a lot of anxiety. Now, I can look up there and see names and put them with positions and know where our football team is and how some of those guys are going to be able to come in and contribute. 

"I know McClain was a captain and I don't know if you guys saw the program they had on Antwan Barnes on the NFL Network, but it was good," Newsome said. "We brought in some quality players as far as character is concerned. 

"I think we'll look back on this draft in three or four years and you're going to be able to look at a lot of players that are going to be major contributors to a team that went 13-3. Hopefully, we've positioned ourselves to go deep into the playoffs next year."

If that happens, the Ravens' draftees will be well known in due time.
 
Issue 2.18: May 3, 2007