Deon Juniel Figures (born January 10, 1970) is a former American college and professional football player who was

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, and earned All-American honors. A first-round pick in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

, he played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Figures was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Deon Figures
Retrieved February 23, 2012. He grew up playing

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

football in Gardena, under coach Chris Mahoney. He graduated from Junípero Serra High School,databaseFootball.com, Players
Deon Figures
. Retrieved February 23, 2012. where he played for the Serra Cavaliers high school football team.

College career

Figures attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, and played for the Colorado Buffaloes football team from 1988 to 1992. As a freshman in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, he played in 10 games and intercepted two passes against the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's an ...

, setting a record for Buffalo freshmen. He did not qualify academically in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, but played in all 12 games and compiled 67 unassisted tackles and 18 assists as a redshirt sophomore in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. In a non-conference game against the No. 12

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

, Figures intercepted a second pass from Huskies quarterback

Mark Brunell Mark Allen Brunell (born September 17, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for nineteen seasons and is best k ...

in the final minute of the game to secure the victory. After winning the Big Eight Conference championship with a 7–0 conference schedule and compiling a 10–1–1 overall record, the Buffaloes faced the No. 5

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

. Memorably, Figures intercepted a pass from Irish quarterback

Rick Mirer Richard Franklin Mirer (born March 19, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected second overall by the Seattle Sea ...

as time expired to ice the Buffaloes' 10–9 victory and win the 1990 national championship. By the start of his

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

junior season, opposing Big Eight coaches were well aware of Figures' defensive skills and sought to direct offensive plays away from him, but nevertheless compiled two interceptions and 39 tackles, and helped the Buffaloes win a share of their third straight Big Eight championship and another top-25 ranking. As a senior in 1992, he had six more interceptions while logging 38 tackles, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. He was also the recipient of the

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...

and

Jack Tatum Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

as the best college defensive back in the country.

Professional career

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Figures in the first round, 23rd pick overall, of the 1993 NFL Draft,Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History
1993 National Football League Draft
. Retrieved February 23, 2012. and he played for the Steelers from to .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players

Retrieved February 23, 2012. As a member of the Steelers, he helped his team reach the AFC Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers in 1994. He finished his NFL career with the

in and . In his six seasons in the NFL, Figures played in 93 games, started 40 of them, and recorded 269 tackles, nine interceptions and four recovered fumbles.

NFL statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figures, Deon 1970 births Living people All-American college football players American football cornerbacks Colorado Buffaloes football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from California Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California) alumni