Figures Adds Up to Success for Buffs : Despite Troubles, Former Serra High Player Has Knack for Making the Big Play

“The thing to remember is that you’re going to get beat (for a touchdown). If you don’t, you should be coaching not playing. The question is, when you get beat, can you recover?”

--Herb Adderley, former NFL defensive back

Deon Figures has been through a lot since leaving Serra High for Boulder, Colo.

The senior defensive back at Colorado missed the 1989 season because of an academic suspension, had a close friend and teammate die and will miss the opening game of the upcoming season for breaking an unspecified team rule.

But Figures has always been one to bounce back from adversity.

He had interceptions to secure victories against Washington and Notre Dame and enters his senior year as one of the nation’s top defensive backs and a candidate for the Thorpe award.

“I’m a competitor,” Figures said. “Some DBs, if they give up a touchdown, are lost, they can’t function. But you have to be able to bounce back.”

But missing the 1989 season was particularly difficult for Figures.

The Buffaloes earned a berth to the Orange Bowl only to lose to Notre Dame. The loss cost Colorado the national title.

Quarterback Sal Aunese, who was stricken with stomach and lung cancer, died early in the season. It proved to be a rallying point for the team and also helped Figures put his life into perspective.

“It was tough the first few games sitting in the stands, knowing that I should be out on the field,” Figures said. “I looked at what was happening to Sal and said to myself, ‘Look what he’s going through, this is just a semester for me.’ He helped me to keep my head up. It hurt to see something happen like that to such a young guy.”

Figures spent his redshirt season working out in the weight room, which helped him keep him in contact with teammates.

“When I came back, Alfred Williams told me that we were going back to the Orange Bowl,” Figures said.

Colorado got off to a 2-1-1 start in 1990, but in the fifth game against Washington, the Buffaloes turned around their season with a 20-14 victory. Figures intercepted a pass in the end zone with just over a minute left to secure the victory.

Colorado won the rest of its regular-season games and earned a return trip to the Orange Bowl, where Figures made an interception against Notre Dame to secure a 10-9 victory.

The celebration started when teammates started jumping on Figures, who said it was a painful but worthwhile experience.

“They almost killed me,” Figures said, laughing. “I was the only person on the bottom of that pile and no one could hear me screaming. I had bruised ribs afterward.”

Reviews of Figures’ play in preseason magazines has ranged from praise to criticism.

The Sporting News rated him as the nation’s sixth-best cornerback. College and Pro Football Weekly rated him a second-team All-American, but Street and Smith does not even rate Figures as an All-Big Eight selection.

Heinrich’s Pro Football magazine rates Figures as the eighth-best draft prospect and says that he may be college football’s premier man-to-man defender. But the Heinrich’s College Football preview says Figures “is a great talent who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.”

“I don’t get too wrapped up in those because it can get you off-track,” Figures said. “A friend told me about the one that said I was the best in the nation and I said, ‘For real?’ ”

As for the criticism, people who work with Figures believe it is unwarranted.

“Deon’s a great guy to work with, he’s my favorite,” Colorado secondary coach Greg Brown said. “He’s not only got great physical skills, but he’s a pleasure to be around. He’s got a bright future. I’d trade places with him in a second.”

Figures says he is not a troublemaker.

“I’m a good guy, easy to get along with,” he said. “I’m a quiet person, laid-back, I don’t give anyone trouble.”

Figures plans to graduate with a sociology degree in May and hopes to eventually spend time working with kids.

“Colorado’s paid for my schooling, and if they are going to use me for football, I want to make sure I use them to get my education,” Figures said.

Figures plans to use his experiences to show others how to overcome obstacles and get ahead, especially his 19 nieces and nephews in the Los Angeles area.

“They all look up to me,” he said. “I even have nieces that want to be football players. I just want them to know that they can overcome the odds.”