Former Jackson State WR Daylen Baldwin announces commitment to Michigan

Not even a full week after working out for the Michigan football coaches in person, former Jackson State wide receiver Daylen Baldwin announced his commitment to the Wolverines on Monday.

Baldwin chose the Wolverines over Ohio State, who offered him a day before Michigan did, Mid-American Conference teams like Central Michigan and Kent State, and a few other smaller schools.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is from Southfield, but actually went to Farmington High School before transferring to Mott High School in Waterford. He was an unranked player in the class of 2017 with very little recruiting attention.

Baldwin signed to play with Morgan State, and did so from 2017-18, but then transferred down to Jackson State. Following a redshirt season in 2019, he led the team in receiving last year with 540 yards and seven touchdowns on 27 receptions, averaging 90 yards per game in the six games they played.

His yards and touchdowns led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2020, and he was awarded the Newcomer of the Year in the conference.

With Baldwin’s transfer to Ann Arbor, this gives the Wolverines the flexibility to not have to necessarily worry about the receiver position in the 2022 class. They already have two committed — four-stars Tayshawn Trent and Tyler Morris — but appeared to be going after a handful of others. Now they can shift their focus to other positions of need, if they so choose, and not lose sleep over whether or not they get another top-tier prospect at the wide receiver position.

Another reason this is a big addition is because he has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. After this season, Ronnie Bell’s time in Ann Arbor will be up, so Baldwin will have the opportunity to step up and be the next veteran presence for the younger receivers, like A.J. Henning, Roman Wilson, and the true freshmen, Andrel Anthony and Cristian Dixon.

With Nico Collins now in the NFL, Giles Jackson’s transfer to Washington and Xavier Worthy down at Texas, the wide receiver room was a bit thin before Baldwin’s transfer. Now that he is squarely in the fold, expect him to be one of the go-to targets for Cade McNamara this upcoming season, along with Bell, Cornelius Johnson and Mike Sainristil.