ORONO — It was media day, and no Maine football player was more in demand than the effervescent Sherrod Baltimore.

En route to a photo session, the cornerback spied a reporter and quickly veered in his direction, offering a broad smile and a hug, exclaiming: “I was hoping you would be here!”

Sherrod Baltimore of the University of Maine pressures Villanova’s Kevin Gulyas during a game in October 2014. Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer

This was unprecedented behavior at these typically businesslike interactions between athletes and the media. But then Baltimore is the most atypical of the Black Bear seniors, 13 of whom will be suiting up for the final time at Alfond Stadium when Maine (3-6, 3-3 Colonial Athletic Association) hosts Elon (3-6, 2-4) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

“I came from rock bottom. Nothing makes me mad. I’m a thankful kid. I’m grateful,” Baltimore said recently, reflecting on his improbable trek from the dangerous streets of Washington, D.C., to the tranquility of Orono.

“Rock bottom” included life without a father, constant dislocations with his mother and four younger siblings, welfare and poverty, and the ever-present threat of violence.

Athletics, and the guidance of his uncle, Lenox, eventually put Baltimore on a different path. He was a talented point guard in basketball, the family’s game of choice. His grandfather, also named Lenox, was a star in that sport at George Washington University.

But Baltimore, who grew to only a sprite 5-foot-10, also embraced football from age 6 on. He was a quarterback until his junior year at Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Maryland, where a coach convinced him that cornerback would be his ticket to a college scholarship. Baltimore reluctantly quit his AAU basketball team the summer before his senior year to learn the new position. He was so good that he received scholarship offers from the likes of Delaware, Rhode Island and Towson – Maine’s CAA rivals.

But it was the school the farthest away that kept beckoning the youngster looking to leave D.C. behind.

Baltimore remembers an early recruiting trip by a Black Bears coach. A classmate looked at him with alarm.

“Maine?” she said to Baltimore. “Maine is by Alaska!”

Baltimore went to his high school coach to verify this information. After he was set straight, Baltimore came up to Orono for a visit.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “It was comforting. I’m from the struggle. This was just different.

“I’ve always been a happy person. I think they match my intensity up here. They’re happy people.”

Baltimore redshirted his first year and played sparingly the next two behind Kendall James. Off the field, he dedicated himself to improving his vocabulary as a communications major.

“I could talk, but it was like slang. I knew what I wanted to say, but I needed more big words and to learn how to put them in a sentence and make it sound good,” he said.

“I got more mature. I used to be a wild animal, but I had to change my ways a little bit. I learned to finesse the system without getting in trouble, without getting screamed at.”

Baltimore came to Maine weighing a mere 160 pounds. But he had an oversized personality that the seniors embraced, said defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak, who arrived in Orono the same year Baltimore did.

There was a swagger, but an undeniable likability in Baltimore. His smile is as easy to spot as the long dreadlocks that flow down his back, refusing to be contained by his football helmet.

“This kid is not scared of speaking his mind. I think that really set the tone for him here,” Harasymiak said. “And the other aspect that helps is the kid is a really hard worker. It’s one thing if you talk and you don’t back it up. Sherrod has always talked, but he’s always gone out there and given his effort. The guys know he’s out there going a thousand miles an hour.”

Baltimore started all 11 games for Maine a year ago, contributing 27 tackles and six pass breakups, but no interceptions.

This year he is the lone senior in a secondary that has been wracked with injuries. Baltimore’s leadership, as well as his steady play, has been vital, Harasymiak said. He has 21 tackles and two interceptions, but his contributions far exceed those numbers.

Harasymiak got a taste of that during a Halloween loss at Villanova, a game Baltimore had to sit out because of a groin injury.

“It was hard for him, I could tell,” Harasymiak said. “Once he was out there, he couldn’t let that be showing. At some points in the game, he was like yanking on me, telling me things. It was interesting because I was like, ‘Who’s touching me right now?’ It was him.

“He was coaching up the defense during TV timeouts. I could see him going into something like that.”

Baltimore wants to give the NFL a shot after his Maine career ends in two weeks, at New Hampshire. He also has spoken about going into his uncle’s family contracting business, or becoming an NFL general manager.

None of those dreams would have been imaginable five years ago, before Baltimore made a decision he said he’s never regretted.

“I don’t get homesick,” he said. “I’m from nothing. Anytime you get a scholarship, you get to eat for free, you’re getting stuff for free? Man, I’m still appreciating that.”

Related Stories