The Ravens were looking for a more confident punt returner this season – somebody who would make decisive, clean catches, and hopefully do something with it afterwards.
Though he hasn't officially won the job yet, rookie LaJohntay Wester looks to be the perfect man for the job after one preseason game.
Wester returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in his first NFL game – a rare and epic start for a sixth-round pick. But it wasn't at all surprising to Wester.
Wester nearly broke loose on a punt return for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in their joint practice Tuesday. On Wednesday, he called his father and told him, "I feel one coming tomorrow."
"I prayed all night and trusted God, and he led me to the end zone," Wester said. "At the end of the day it's football. I have been playing football since I was 6 years old. So, it was just second nature."
Wester took his first punt return back for 17 yards after running up to field the short kick and making a couple tacklers miss. As a second punt came hurtling down from the sky, he thought, "this might be the one."
He started to his left, jab stepped to the right, then weaved past a Colts tackler. Once he hit the hole, Wester zoomed between two players and high-stepped through a diving arm tackle by another. When he reached open field, he was gone.
"I was really aggressive tonight," Wester said. "That was my goal coming into the game, to be aggressive and let God do his magic. … If you know me, you know I always have confidence. Just because everyone [has] overlooked me."
When Wester reached the end zone, he looked up to the scoreboard and saw himself. He gave a confident nod. As his teammates congratulated him on the sideline afterward, he kept his head with an intense look in his eyes.
"I've been overlooked all my life, in this game, since I was 6 years old," Wester said. "I was still making plays. So, for me to be able to overcome all of that, and get here and be able to get my first NFL touchdown in a game like this, it was amazing. It was a whole lot of built-up emotion, anger, frustration, and crying. I just let it loose tonight."
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Wester has long had to convince people that he's big enough for the biggest moments.
He started his college career at Florida Atlantic, where he was a prolific receiver who caught 108 passes for 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. He then transferred to Colorado to play for former Raven Deion Sanders (Coach Prime) and was still a big-time playmaker, hauling in 74 passes for 931 yards and 10 scores.
He only had two punt returns for touchdowns during his college career, but the Ravens saw a sure-handed receiver with joystick-like moves and speed to burn. He had the makings of a difference-making returner that Baltimore has lacked.
Wester said it has been mentioned that the Ravens needed a jolt at returner.
"There wasn't a whole lot that needed to be said. I have a very high understanding of this game and my position," Wester said.
Wester is competing with Tylan Wallace, Anthony Miller, and Dayton Wade to be the punt returner. As the rookie, he's at the bottom of the team's first depth chart and Head Coach John Harbaugh isn't ready to crown him just yet – not even after such a storybook start.
"Let's just go through camp. Let's let the process play itself out," Harbaugh said. "We still have two more weeks. We have time. [We will] just see what happens."
Wester also caught two passes for 41 yards. His 30-yard grab was the longest of any player on either team. But in a crowded wide receiver room, he knows his avenue to playing time as a rookie is as the punt returner and he made a strong case Thursday night.
"That is one of the reasons why they brought me here, is to become a game changer in the special teams department," Wester said. "I'm taking that role head on. I just [have] to keep improving day in and day out, so I can go in and lock the job when the season starts."
