ExtremeRavens Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago Malaki Starks makes quite the first impression. When the Ravens drafted the Georgia safety with the 27th pick in the NFL draft, general manager Eric DeCosta said that Starks had one of the most impressive combine interviews he’d ever seen. Coach John Harbaugh was smitten by tape of do-it-all secondary help. And when defensive coordinator Zach Orr saw Starks’ athleticism up close for the first time, he thought, “no way he’s going to get to 27.” That wasn’t all. It wasn’t just Baltimore’s decision makers who were sold on Starks’ potential right away. “When I first met him — I deal with so many young men that are in their early 20s — a lot of times you say, ‘They just got a little maturing to do. They just gotta be a little more process driven,’” said former NFL wideout turned trainer, Yo Murphy. “With Malaki, it wasn’t like that. “You got a guy that has that type of athletic ability but really thinks through and wants to know everything about his body, everything about performance. He wants to be great.” Murphy trains out of a state-of-the-art facility in Tampa, Florida. Each spring, he’ll bring in, at most, 24 athletes to help prepare for the NFL draft. Starks was deemed a good fit (as was Western Michigan cornerback Bilhal Kone, the Ravens’ sixth-round selection). They spent about seven weeks together in the build-up to the NFL scouting combine. Because all those soon-to-be-draftees were still recovering from the end of their respective seasons and the stretch of preparation work can be demanding without ample recovery time, Murphy is careful about putting every athlete on a shot clock. Murphy wanted to give Starks “small bites of the apple.” Starks wanted to show up at 5 a.m. for extra work before the other 23 prospects arrived for 6 a.m. lift. “As long as he knows it’s a benefit and how it’s going to benefit,” Murphy said, “that kid will do anything.” That’s essentially how his Georgia career played out. Starks was a freshman on the Bulldogs’ 2022 national championship team. At that point, a large share of his playing time came at deep safety. That’s how coach Kirby Smart first envisioned deploying him. Starks was called on to shift around to the slot and into the box out of necessity. The past two years in Athens, he shined as a multi-faceted defender, capable of stopping the long ball or sticking his nose in the backfield. Malaki Starks working with Tampa-based trainer Yo Murphy. The Ravens' first-round pick routinely got up at 5 a.m. to meet Murphy for one-on-one work before his fellow draft prospects arrived. (Courtesy: Hunter Brandon)Malaki Starks spent seven weeks in Tampa, Florida preparing for the NFL Draft. One former NFL veteran called him, "the smartest young guy I ever met.” (Courtesy: Hunter Brandon)Show Caption1 of 2Malaki Starks working with Tampa-based trainer Yo Murphy. The Ravens' first-round pick routinely got up at 5 a.m. to meet Murphy for one-on-one work before his fellow draft prospects arrived. (Courtesy: Hunter Brandon)Expand In 2024, Starks played 400 snaps at deep safety, 271 in the slot and 215 in the box, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s a tad undersized at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, which he masks with a sprinting background (10.55 seconds in the 100-meter dash in high school, 4.50 40-yard dash) and the smarts to be a versatile puzzle piece. For Murphy, that meant honing in on the details of athletic movements that apply more broadly to various positions around the secondary. He had to get creative in putting Starks and the other defensive backs in uncomfortable positions, like having them run routes alongside receivers to stress linear movement, contrasting the backpedaling he’s accustomed to. Starks won’t be tasked to run routes in Baltimore. But his new coaches, less than 24 hours after submitting the pick, were already giddy to game plan how he can help. READER POLL: How would you grade the Ravens’ draft? “I ran into Coach [Harbaugh] this morning,” Orr said, sounding more excited with each word. “We were already talking about all the different ways how he adds to our defense, man, and we talk about the advantage that we feel like we have here in Baltimore is being positionless. And that’s all over the field, but especially with our secondary. He helps create an advantage for us and a disadvantage to the offense.” Earlier this year, Starks was wrapping up a workout in Tampa when Antoine Winfield Sr. stopped by. Murphy made the introduction, then gave the two some space to connect. They had known each other for all of 90 seconds, Murphy made it only a few steps away, and the 21-year-old was already peppering the three-time Pro Bowl defensive back about his process. “I could hear him asking questions,” Murphy said, “like, ‘What’s the hardest thing about your position?’ Or, ‘What do you do to prepare?’” Starks did the same thing when meeting former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, Murphy said. The first trait folks notice in Starks is his inquisitiveness and his attention to detail. He wants to learn, wants to grow. And his football GPA, DeCosta said, is “very, very high.” Murphy has been in this business a while. He’s trained many pros. He considers cornerback Logan Ryan to be one of the smartest. Ryan played 11 seasons in the NFL (2013 to 2023), winning a pair of Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots. Even in retirement, Ryan still comes around to lend a hand with Murphy’s predraft crew. After his first day in Tampa with select members of this draft class, Ryan walked out of the room and told Murphy, “He’s the smartest young guy I ever met.” Ryan isn’t the friendliest in the room. He doesn’t say that kind of thing just to say it for sake of being nice. From him, that praise carries weight. Even Murphy was taken aback to hear the word “brilliant” come out of Ryan’s mouth about a prospect who hasn’t played a snap in the NFL yet. “His maturity, professionalism and his approach,” Murphy said, “his interviewing me about where he’s gonna train, just showed a lot about him.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.