CB Ashton Youboty (Buffalo Bills)

[BuffaloBuck]

So happy for Ashton.....

He would have caught on somewhere, but it says a lot that he went out and made the team, against all odds.

He has the talent, hopefully he puts it to good use.

[Buckskin86]

Youboty emerging in Bills' defensive backfield
by Brian Galliford on Sep 12, 2008


Youboty making his presence felt early (buffalobills.com)

"The pass defense of the Buffalo Bills in 2007 ranked next-to-last in the NFL." "He's injury-prone." "The Bills signed a cornerback and drafted three more in the off-season." "He's buried on the depth chart."

These were all used, once upon a time, as reasons why Buffalo Bills cornerback Ashton Youboty - just now entering his third season in the league - might not make Buffalo's final roster in 2008. After two years of misfortune, however, Youboty has emerged from the bowels of the Bills' depth chart. His work ethic is impeccable, and his potential is through the roof. What's more, he's backed up what he's done in the practice setting with results on the field.

In short, Ashton Youboty may have saved Buffalo's entire defensive backfield.

Youboty the player
The strides that Youboty have taken in just one off-season aren't completely shocking - there is, after all, a very good reason that the Bills made Youboty their third-round selection in the 2006 draft. The kid's got talent, and a lot of it. But his progress leading into the 2008 season can certainly be filed under the "pleasant surprise" category.

He hasn't hit his full potential yet. Particularly while back in coverage, Youboty has some polishing to do on his game. On one play in particular in the team's win over Seattle (you may remember it as the play in which Seahawks WR Nate Burleson shredded his knee, ending his season), Youboty got his hips turned badly almost immediately by Burleson. Had the receiver not been injured, it likely would have been a big gainer. Youboty's relatively new to playing the slot, so he needs to work on his leverages and his hips to become more effective in that role.

Where Youboty has made his mark, however, is as a playmaker. The Bills, by and large, have solid cornerbacks, but Youboty alone of the group has shown that he can consistently make plays from the position. He was even doing it in last year's season finale, intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass in one of the few highlights of that game. Youboty was effective making plays in the backfield against the Seahawks; Perry Fewell routinely used him in blitz packages, and Youboty ended up leading the team in tackles on the day.

Youboty emerging in Bills' defensive?backfield - Buffalo Rumblings

[Buckeye Nut]

Great game by Ashton yesterday! He made two huge open field tackles on third downs that stopped Jaguar drives. Keep it up Ashton!

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Defense: Ashton Youboty, CB, Buffalo Bills. The stat line, three tackles and a sack, won?t blow anyone away, but Youboty?s play on Sunday certainly did. In addition to the sack in which he effortlessly wrapped up the much heavier David Garrard, Youboty twice recorded open-field tackles on third down when the Jaguars were in scoring positions. On a day in which the Bills struggled with form tackling, Youboty prevented the Jags from stealing the win.

[osugrad21]

Link

Third-year player goes from bubble to difference-maker

Youboty comes out of corner swinging

By Bucky Gleason NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
Updated: 09/17/08 7:12 AM


Ashton Youboty wished he could point to a specific moment that awakened his career and signaled his ascension with the Buffalo Bills. It would certainly make his life easier and his story better. He?s been asked numerous times over the past two months about his improvement and still has no standard answer.
Was he faster and stronger? Maybe, but it was bound to happen after he showed up for his rookie year looking like the fresh-faced kid who bagged your groceries. Did he have a better grasp of the Bills? defense? Nobody knows it better than coordinator Perry Fewell, but he can?t play cornerback in the NFL.
Did he get immediate results from participating in Tom Shaw Performance Enhancement, the football boot camp in Orlando, Fla., that?s designed to give players an edge? Was he more motivated knowing he entered the season on the bubble?
It was all of the above to a certain degree, but the answer might be quite simple.
?At the end of the day, it was just coming back to Buffalo, going into training camp, competing and making the team,? Youboty said this week. ?I?m not saying I didn?t get bigger, faster or stronger. But it really was nothing dramatic. It?s just that you can?t make plays on the sideline.?
Youboty, 24, has done more than make the team. For the first time in his career, the third-year cornerback has been making a difference. He has been one of the Bills? best defensive players over the first two games, a big reason why they have a 2-0 record for the first time since 2003.
The Bills? special teams and Marcus Stroud?s performance largely overshadowed Youboty leading them with eight tackles in the season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks. He came back with three big plays in another terrific performance Sunday in a 20-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.


Cont...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Youboty is shaking: Third-year cornerback Ashton Youboty has rewarded the faith that Bills' coach Dick Jauron showed in him this summer when Jauron decided to keep Youboty on the roster instead of veteran Will James.
Playing the important nickel cornerback position, Youboty has 11 tackles and a sack and has helped the Bills' defense to an early ranking of fourth in the league in average yards allowed per pass attempt.
"I know that we've talked about this before, but he's got an excellent feel for the game around him," said Jauron. "And the fact is that he is three years older, so he's got more experience.
"He understands our game a little bit more and he's really played well. In the (Jacksonville) game, what I liked about Ashton was that he played faster. He closes. When he closes now, he's hitting people. That's our game, let's face it, you have to play fast and confidently, and you have to hit people."
Jauron pointed out that Youboty's rookie season of 2006 was basically a washout, due in large part to the death of his mother while he was in training camp which set him back on the field and, obviously, off. Last year he suffered an ankle sprain early in the year and never bounced back.

Continued.....

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Nearly cut, Youboty suddenly an impact player

ORCHARD PARK -
Through his first two NFL seasons, Ashton Youboty had been barely a blip on the Buffalo Bills? defense, yet he has been one of the biggest reasons for the team?s strong start in his third.
Youboty needed a strong training camp and preseason just to be put on the fringe of the final cuts. Still, when he won the nickel cornerback job, it came as a mild surprise because the man he beat out ? veteran Will James ? was signed as a free agent for the specific reason of playing the nickel.
Buffalo?s 2006 third-round draft choice had appeared in only 14 games through the first two seasons of his career, making only 25 tackles. In 2008, through only two games, Youboty is third on the team in tackles with 11 and had a hard-hitting sack on David Garrard Sunday in Jacksonville.

Continued......

[osugrad21]

Link

The PFW spin

The Bills' D-backs have gotten physical. Where they used to play off the line and avoid contact, they have stuck their nose into the thick of the action and delivered the blow instead of absorbing it.

No Bills defensive back has personified their dramatic shift in physicality more than embattled CB Ashton Youboty. The third-year pro out of Ohio State entered training camp as a likely cut casualty, with his lack of toughness at the root of his problems. But something clicked for him early on, and he?s made as dramatic a turnaround as a player can make. Rather than sitting out with bumps and bruises, he?s delivering the wood on opposing ballcarriers, serving as arguably the most physical defensive back Buffalo has.

On Sunday in St. Louis, McKelvin also got into the act. With starting CB Terrence McGee sitting out much of the afternoon with a sprained knee, McKelvin saw his most extensive action of the season and made his presence known quickly. On a play that actually marked his first career tackle as well, McKelvin slammed into Rams WR Dane Looker and jarred the ball loose for a fumble.


Cont...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

The Bills also have been without nickel cornerback Ashton Youboty due to an undisclosed foot injury he?s been dealing with since Week Five at Arizona.

[Buckskin86]

November 06, 2008
Snakebit Youboty
Down south, we use the term, buzzard luck, to describe a person who has worse than bad luck. Well, Bills cornerback Ashton Youboty has buzzard luck.

This kid can't catch a break. His rookie year was delayed by the death of his mother. Last season, a high ankle sprain prevented him from possibly locking down a starting job. This season, he's dealing with a foot injury.

Coach Dick Jauron revealed that Youboty has planter fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the area that supports the arch in your foot. It's a painful injury and it can only heal with rest. Youboty is expected to miss his fourth straight game on Sunday.

You have to feel for Youboty, who is a talented player but he has yet to reach his potential because of circumstances beyond his control. One has to hope that at some point Lady Lucky will smile on him at some point.

---Allen Wilson

BillBoard: Snakebit Youboty

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Youboty Done for the Season

Reported by: Mike Catalana
Email: mcatalana@13wham.com
Last Update: 11/07 4:51 pm

Bills cornerback Ashton Youboty is finished for the season after the team placed him on the Injured reserve list on Friday. Youboty, who has been in and out of the lineup in his 3 years with the Bills, had a foot injury and was unable to get back on the field

[Buckskin86]

It might not be the sexiest position battle in the NFL, but if you?re looking for a full-throttle competition lurking beneath the radar, look no further than to the Bills? cornerbacks. Among the always solid Terrence McGee, second-year standout Leodis McKelvin, Ashton Youboty ? who was an early-season Most Improved Player candidate in 2008 before being derailed by injury ? and free-agent find Drayton Florence, the competition will be fierce in the CB pecking order.

The Way We Hear It - NFL pro football rumors and insider news from Pro Football Weekly

[Buckskin86]

Fierce battles
In all fairness there is fierce competition at every position, but some particular spots will have more than one quality option.

Nickel corner is another role that looks as though it will be hotly contested. Veteran free agent Drayton Florence is a prime candidate as is Ashton Youboty, who held down the role last season before succumbing to injury. Second-year upstart Reggie Corner is also very much in the mix.

Organized team activity set to begin

[Buckskin86]

Published: May 20, 2009
BILLS NOTES: Youboty not close to returning
By Tim Schmitt
Niagara Gazette

ORCHARD PARK ? A year ago, Ashton Youboty was hoping to use organized team activities to save his spot on the roster.

This year, the team is saving a spot for him.

The team?s third-round pick in 2006 had a great preseason in 2008, then followed with a string of five solid games to start the season. But a foot injury sidelined him for the rest of the campaign, and although the team insists he?s improving, Youboty has yet to take part in the team?s organized team activities.

After Wednesday?s session inside the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse, coach Dick Jauron said the cornerback?s chances of returning before training camp are up in the air.

?He?s getting better and better all of the time. We just want to make sure he?s ready for training camp,? Jauron said. ?Through this period, we?ll just see how it goes. He?s been heading in the right direction now for a number of weeks, so we?re happy about that.?

In his place, Reggie Corner is expected to get a large share of nickel back assignments.

Youboty had eight total tackles in last year?s season opener against Seattle, then contributed a sack the following week against Jacksonville.

Niagara Gazette - BILLS NOTES: Youboty not close to returning

[osucollegebuck]

He's developed into the Bills best tackler among the CB's. I hope he stays healthy. Ashton absolutely leaves it all on the field, I remember after the Seattle game his face looked like it was 5% bigger because it was swollen so bad. Good Luck Youboty!!!! Keep proving the doubters wrong.