Malaki Starks Continues to Learn From Ravens Veterans

"I think there's levels to football and just the knowledge and the accumulation that we have in our room, not just in the DB room, but in the linebackers room, in the D-line room, even on the offensive side of ball, the tight ends room [and] receivers [room]," Starks said after Monday's practice. "Just being able to really get out here and watch guys and learn how they move and how they see the game of football from a different perspective than I do has been huge for me."

One of his biggest areas of growth since he first hit the field as a pro in rookie minicamp until now has been getting acclimated to differences in landmarks on an NFL field compared to the college game where the hashmarks are 18 feet, 6 inches apart instead of the 40 feet he's accustomed to playing for the past three years.

"The field is completely different than college," Starks said. "They would say if my job was at the numbers, I was going to the college numbers, but I was missing the league numbers. So, just being able to work on that, stay after practice and just watch a lot of tape and just kind of reprogram myself into [the mindset of], 'this is where I'm supposed to be at,' has been the challenging thing, but it is getting a lot better with all the help, and all the reps that I'm getting is huge in my development."

Two-time All Pro veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey has already been a great mentor to him in their short time together and Starks wants to glean all he can as they both will be playing major roles in the Ravens secondary this upcoming season.

"Just being able to learn from him and just all the ball that he's seen, all the people that he's played with, just for me to be able to sit in the same meeting room and be like, 'Hey, when they do this, what do you think about this' or whatever, and then, just his character," Starks said. "He's a funny, goofy guy – not what I expected him to be whatsoever. He's awesome, man. I'm blessed to be here with a vet like him and a lot of other guys in the room."

Another veteran who has been a major influence on his growth and development thus far is three-time First Team All Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith. His fellow Georgia alumnus has helped him begin to view the game from a new perspective.

"Just him being that the voice of the defense, but also, I watched a lot of his tape when he was at Georgia, so it's a cool moment for me, but just to see the way that he handles his business ... He's super smart," Starks said. "You've got to learn what to do before you can start telling people what to do, and he has that respect from everybody on the team. So, just watching him and how he moves, and even the guys on the offense, the guys just move in different ways, and it works in different ways. Not everybody has to lead in the same way. So, [I'm] just really trying to take pieces from everybody and put it into my own mold."

A great resource for Starks on the coaching staff is senior defensive assistant and secondary coach Chuck Pagano who is back with the team and worked with Ravens legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed during his first stint from 2008-11. Starks has already taken a liking to him and said he reminds him of a less fiery version of his former defensive back coach in college, Will Muschamp.

"Just the way they go about their business and just the knowledge of football that they both have," Starks said. "He texted me at five [a.m.] this morning with film from Thursday's practice, and I woke up, and I was like, 'OK, cool. That makes sense. 'That's how I want to be coached. I received that very well, so just being able to have somebody like that in my corner, it's a blessing."