Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Mini-camp isn’t summer camp.
That’s the message from REDBLACKS defensive back Sherrod Baltimore, who last season turned heads first at an open tryout, then mini-camp, then main camp. Baltimore, who as a second-year REDBLACK won’t be at mini-camp this year, went on record 47 defensive tackles in 13 games as a rookie in 2017.
He didn’t do that by being a social butterfly, even if that may come naturally to the affable 25-year-old out of Maryland.
“You can’t come in here looking to make friends, especially not in camp,” said Baltimore, who will be back on the field at TD Place when main camp opens later in May.
After the University of Maine product was spotted at one of Ottawa’s open tryouts in the United States, he was invited to mini-camp with a chance to prove himself.
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Baltimore collected 47 tackles in his first season in Ottawa (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)
“I was excited, I was nervous, I was all of that,” said Baltimore. “I just wanted to come in and ball, show them what I knew I could do.”
Baltimore said there’s nothing wrong with feeling the pressure a bit at this kind of audition.
“Everyone’s watching you and wants to see what you can do, so you’ve got to show it to them,” he said.
Up next for Baltimore is a different audition, one in which he’ll be out to prove that a solid start to his CFL career was no fluke. That may start officially later in May, but it’s been an ongoing process since the clock ran out on Ottawa’s 2017 campaign.
“I’ve been in the gym, just trying to get better, stronger, faster,” he said. “You have to put the work in. No one is going to hand you anything.”
But with the season approaching, Baltimore is getting a bit tired of the gym routine.
“Oh man, I need to get out there on the field, it’s been long enough,” he said. “I’m sick of the gym, it’s time to get back to Ottawa and get this thing going again.”
