ExtremeRavens Posted 10 hours ago Posted 10 hours ago Pathways to an NFL field can be anything but linear. Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan knows this as well as anyone because if not for a broken thumb in high school, he might not even be in Baltimore. It was the fall of 2018 and Buchanan, then a junior and the starting quarterback for St. Ignatius in San Francisco, placed a harrowing and tearful call to his father, Arron Smith, to explain that he’d just broken the thumb on his throwing hand. “It broke my heart,” Smith told The Baltimore Sun. “I wanted him to be my quarterback.” Unrated and with no scholarship offers, Buchanan thought that his season and possibly his football career were over before it had started. But he beseeched his parents and doctors to continue to play, and eventually they agreed on letting him return as an outside linebacker, which he could play with a cast on his arm. It also marked the turning point of his football journey. Just a two-star recruit with only two initial scholarship offers from Colorado State and San José State, Buchanan instead chose FCS school UC Davis, where he put together four impressive seasons. But even though he led the team in tackles as a sophomore, was named a captain his junior year and selected to the All-Big Sky second team his senior season, he once again wasn’t sure what his future held. The NFL seemed like an elusive fantasy. “I never got that external validation from other people,” he told The Baltimore Sun. “I ended up at UC Davis — don’t get me wrong, I loved Davis — but that kept me humble and wanting to improve. “That kind of stuck with me and shaped the work ethic I have.” That work, along with encouragement from his father to enter the transfer portal, led him to California, where in 2024 he led the Bears in tackles (114) and tackles for loss (12). Among them were a game-high 11 tackles, including three for loss, and a forced fumble in a 21-14 win at Auburn last September. That performance percolated among NFL scouts. Then his scouting combine performance in Indianapolis, where he posted elite vertical and broad jump numbers to help compile a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.41 out of 10 that ranked 189th out of 3,204 linebackers since 1987, only further cemented his future as a pro football player. All of which led to the Ravens selecting him in the fourth round of the NFL draft in April. Still, with All-Pro Roquan Smith and third-year incumbent Trenton Simpson occupying the middle of Baltimore’s linebacking corps, it looked as if Buchanan might have to wait. He didn’t have to wait long. Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is chased by Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan. The rookie linebacker has earned the team's starting position at weakside linebacker. (Terrance Williams/AP) In Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, the one-time quarterback who says having experience playing that position helps him process faster, essentially split time with Simpson, 29 snaps to 26. But amid the crushing 41-40 defeat in which the Ravens’ defense allowed nearly 500 yards, it was evident that Simpson, who was benched late last season, hadn’t progressed as well as coaches had hoped. In Week 2, Buchanan got the start, logged 60 defensive snaps to just 15 for Simpson, and finished with six tackles. Though coach John Harbaugh was noncommittal about whether that would be the order going forward, it didn’t take much reading between the lines. “He’s just playing really solid football,” Harbaugh said of Buchanan. “He is in the right place doing the right things, [with] specific things that we were doing in this game. I just thought Teddye played another really good game. Again, [there are] things he can work on and get better at, but [he] played a really good game for us. “You just never know what direction it’s going to go, but when guys play well, they continue to play, and there’s nobody not playing well. So, if there’s someone that we need to take out, we would, but that’s kind of just how it works.” Though Buchanan was surprised to get the start — he called his father last Tuesday with the stunned news — it was less of a surprise to those close to the UC Davis design major who is a chiseled 240 pounds and the oldest of Smith’s three sons. “That dude had abs when he was 2,” he said, adding that he himself was a workout warrior and had his son doing push-ups since age 5 and weightlifting since 11. “He’s very intentional about how he lives, how he eats and how he trains.” Football isn’t any different. Former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne is tackled by former California linebacker and current Ravens starter Teddye Buchanan in 2024. (Butch Dill/AP file) “The way he approaches meetings, walk-throughs and practice, he’s just a total professional,” California coach Justin Wilcox said after last year’s game against Auburn. “There’s not much he’s not prepared for. He’s gonna be in the right places and play really hard.” That was evident to Roquan Smith as soon as the two were on the field together during OTAs and training camp. “He’s well advanced for a rookie,” he said in July. “Just the way he processes things, even throughout the springtime. … Just the way things clicked for him mentally, and then with ‘Tucc’ [inside linebackers coach Tyler Santucci] coaching, the way he is breaking things down, I think it’s very special, and I think he’s going to be a really good player in this league.” Time will tell. Against the Bills, Buchanan surrendered a 29-yard completion from quarterback and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen to rookie tight end Jackson Hawes down to Baltimore’s 1-yard line that set up a critical touchdown with two minutes remaining. In an apparent mix-up in coverage before the snap, Buchanan got a tongue-lashing from Smith on the field after the play. It was a learning moment that could be chalked up to being thrust into the deep end of the pool. Smith has also been one of his biggest supporters, Buchanan says, “going out of his way” with the two talking and texting daily. It was also Smith who organized a dinner for the defense in Baltimore after the defeat, and Buchanan says that he has tried to squeeze whatever knowledge he can from his fellow inside linebacker. The next time Buchanan takes the field, Monday night at M&T Bank Stadium against the Lions, he’ll also carry out a familiar ritual. In Buchanan’s mind, the lights will dim, the crowd will blur and the noise will fade. He’ll gaze toward the stands, point at the sky in remembrance of his late grandmother who died when he was in high school, and take a moment for himself. “I think about how far I’ve come,” he told The Sun. “After that, it’s ball.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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