Deon Juniel Figures (born January 10, 1970) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for six seasons. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Colorado Buffaloes, and earned consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the first round pick of the 1993 NFL draft. He also played for the

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. In 2024, Figures was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Early life

Figures was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and municipal corporation, incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

.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, . 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 The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team was a charter member of the Big 12 before leaving to jo ...

team from 1988 to 1992. As a freshman in 1988, he played in 10 games and intercepted two passes against the Iowa State Cyclones, setting a record for Buffalo freshmen. He did not qualify academically in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

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

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

, Figures intercepted a second pass from Huskies quarterback Mark Brunell 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 26 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. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

. Memorably, Figures intercepted a pass from Irish quarterback Rick Mirer as time expired to ice the Buffaloes' 10–9 victory and win the 1990 national championship. By the start of his

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

junior season, opposing Big Eight coaches were well aware of Figures' defensive skills and sought to direct offensive plays away from him. He managed to record 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, 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 and Jack Tatum Trophy as the best college defensive back in the country.

Professional career

The

selected Figures in the first round, 23rd pick overall, of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played for the Steelers from to . 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 Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Bellflower, California Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California) alumni Sportspeople from Gardena, California College Football Hall of Fame inductees