Thailand Baldwin commits to Ball State (Twitter Photo)
Thailand Baldwin ends his recruitment with a commitment to Ball State
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
After a bit of an up and down recruitment, Life Christian Academy defensive back Thailand Baldwin (2021 DB 6-0 170) committed to Ball State University.
Baldwin started his high school career at Phoebus High School in Hampton and picked up an offer from Rutgers after his sophomore season.
After his junior season, Baldwin transferred to Life Christian Academy and reclassified to the graduation class of 2021. The offers continued to flow.
Fast forward to this summer and Baldwin had added offers from East Carolina, Charlotte, Temple, Liberty, Army, Navy, Coastal Carolina, Buffalo, Akron, Tennessee, Southern, Fordham and UTSA.
On Wednesday, Baldwin committed to Ball State and he announced it via Twitter.
Committed
#WeFly21 pic.twitter.com/z6nRoQgLC0— 2Smooth (@thailand2_) August 4, 2020
The cornerstone to this successful recruitment may very well lie in the work of Ball State assistant coach Josh Ziedenberg.
Zidenberg played his college ball at the University of Virginia and got his start in coaching over ten years as a Grad Assistant for the Cavaliers under Al Groh. Coach Z joined the Ball State staff earlier this year after a one-year stint at William and Mary as their special teams coordinator and safeties coach. That proximity to recruits like Baldwin gives Ziedenberg the insight on Virginia recruits that he needed to land Thailand.
The offer from Ball State came to Baldwin on March 27. His top eight, released in mid-May, included East Carolina, Temple, Coastal Carolina, Akron, Ball State, Charlotte, Rutgers and Liberty.
– Andy Hilton
