The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2021 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL team that didn't offer me was Penn State, and they were looking at other receivers, as well, so they were evalu- ating everybody; I understand that. "Ohio State and Michigan — it's an accomplishment to get an offer, let alone go there. It was showing me that, Daylen, you can play with those guys. Anybody who told you, you can't play with those guys, they're ly- ing, because you just got an offer from two of the best schools in the country. What are we really talking about?" It was Michigan safeties coach Ron Bellamy, who had a preexisting rela- tionship with Baldwin, that asked him to come to Ann Arbor for a workout in late June. During the session, Baldwin clicked with offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis. "I just liked what the feeling was around there once I got on campus," Baldwin said. "It was more like the feeling, the gut feeling, I had. I brought my mom around like two or three days later, just to make sure she checked it out. Mom always knows best, so I always make sure she's with the decision. If she's not with it, then it's not going down. "They didn't really pitch too much. No disrespect to any receivers on the roster, but they have a lot of youth — a lot of freshmen, a junior, a sopho- more and a senior. They don't have a lot of experience on the field. I can definitely help in that department. That was one thing they did say is that I can give them some experience and come compete right away." Baldwin averaged 20 yards per re- ception last season. At 6-3, 210 pounds, he is now one of two scholarship wide- outs on Michigan's roster over 6-0 who has college experience (6-3 sophomore Cornelius Johnson is the other). When asked to describe his style of play, Baldwin said he can do it all. "You get everything. You get the hitch, you get the hitch to the house, you get the deep ball, you get the intermediate stuff, route running — whatever you need, I got it," Bald- win said. "I give everything. I'm just a smart player, at the end of the day. To me, that's my key — I'm just smart. "That knowledge just helps me a lot doing everything, thinking on the fly. For me, I'd just say they're basi- cally getting an all-around receiver." An all-around receiver who can block, too. Baldwin actually led Jack- son State's entire team — includ- ing offensive linemen — with a Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade of 82.1 this spring while being in on 177 such snaps. An offensive lineman as a youth, Baldwin brings a unique mentality to the wide receiver position. "You don't want to be ashamed of anything you put on film," he said. "There's nobody out there playing as you. Putting stuff on film [is] No. 1. No. 2, treat somebody how you want to be treated. You want some- body to block for you, you block for them. Taking pride in that; that's my brother, I'm not about to let you hit my brother, no matter what. "But really taking pride in it, because at the end of the day, it's a want-to. If you don't want to do it, you're not go- ing to do it. If you do, you're going to find a way to get it done. I know that's a part of my game that other guys won't have, and I'll take pride in it." When it's time to run out of the tunnel to touch the MGoBlue Ban- ner for Michigan's opener against Western Michigan Sept. 4, it'll be a moment to remember for Baldwin, who didn't take the traditional route but was able to get somewhere he never thought he'd be. "That's definitely going to be crazy," Baldwin said. "I feel like I'll get goose bumps the first time. At the end of the day, you've got to isolate yourself and feel like it's just you, the ball, your team, and that's it. Like it's routes on air or like it's practice — that's how you gotta look at it, like it's one-on-ones in practice. "I'll be happy — that'll be the biggest thing. I'll probably be emotional, based off the fact that if anybody would've told me I'd be here two years ago, I'd have looked at them crazy like, 'What are you talking about?' "For me, it's an accomplishment more than anything. I'm gonna be happy and ready to play." And he has the ability to see the field right away. — Clayton Sayfie ALL EYES ON THE BUCKEYES Michigan vs. Ohio State has long been considered one of the best rival- ries in college football, but it hasn't been the typical back-and-forth affair many envision of top programs. U-M dominated the series in the years John Cooper was at the OSU helm, going 10-2-1 from the late 1980s to 2000. Since then, the Buckeyes have grabbed control, having won eight straight and 15 of the last 16. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has had two competitive games with OSU, including a double-overtime loss in 2016 and a fourth-quarter game in 2017. He's still 0-5 against the top rival, though, and the Buckeyes will be heavily favored to beat the Wol- verines again in Ann Arbor this year. "Recruit better or coaching them better. I like to take the responsibility myself," Harbaugh said in address- ing his failures against the Buckeyes and to win a title. "When things go bad, it's on me. Not the players; not the other coaches." They've taken steps to rectify that, Harbaugh noted. He hired some coaches with U-M ties — players who have beaten the Buckeyes be- fore or won championships (or both) in secondary coach Ron Bellamy, running backs coach Mike Hart and analyst Doug Mallory. There are re- minders all over the building of the rivalry's importance, and it's being stressed more than ever. "We've never done some of the things that we've done. Our philos- ophy is, if we plan for Ohio State, we can beat any team," junior de- In the spring of this year, Baldwin led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receiv- ing yards (540) and hauled in 27 catches, including seven for touchdowns, on his way to collecting first-team all-league honors. PHOTO COURTESY JACKSON STATE ATHLETICS