At age 24, Hayden Hurst is a little older than most NFL rookies. That’s thanks to a minor-league baseball career that delayed his college football stardom by a couple of years.

However, the former South Carolina star was still a first-round pick, going to the Baltimore Ravens in this year’s draft.

Hurst knows that he has different expectations than most rookies, and said he expects to make an impact early in the season (via BaltimoreRavens.com):

“I understand, they want me to play early, but football is football,” Hurst said. “I have a lot of confidence in what I was able to do in college. I know the type of player that I am and I’m going to carry it over here. Once I learn the playbook and I can start playing it even faster, it’s going to be exciting.”

Hurst will compete with Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams, Mark Andrews and others for the starting job this summer.

Hurst has maturity going for him, and he was a star at South Carolina. Barring an injury, it’d be surprising if he didn’t get plenty of action this fall.