On December 29, 1997, Timothy Brandon Stephens, a cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, was born.
At SMU and UCLA, he played collegiate football. Plano Senior High School is located in the Texas city of Plano, where Stephens was raised.
He ran for 1,389 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior, earning All-State honors. Stephens originally agreed to play collegiate football for Stanford, but he later withdrew and decided to play for UCLA instead.
Stephens started up his collegiate running back career at UCLA. Stephens made the decision to leave the program after appearing in just two games as a junior and graduating in three years.
Stephens joined SMU as a graduate transfer and was qualified to play right away.
After speaking with head coach Sonny Dykes during the offseason, the SMU coaching staff switched him to cornerback.
Stephens started for the squad in his rookie year and led SMU with 12 interceptions of passes.
He made 43 tackles as a redshirt senior, breaking 10 passes and intercepting one.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Stephens with the 104th overall choice in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Stephens agrees to a four-year rookie deal with the Ravens on July 21, 2021.
Since Matt Elam (76) in 2013, Stephens has made the second-most tackles of any rookie defensive back for the Ravens, with 72.
He has intercepted three passes and performed admirably in coverage. The Ravens’ roster’s most adaptable player may be Stephens.