Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin has known cornerback Richard Sherman since arriving at Stanford in 2007. And Baldwin says that when Sherman first covered him on the practice field, he looked nothing like the All-Pro cornerback he is today.
Sherman started his Stanford career as a wide receiver, and when Sherman first moved to cornerback he was lost. So Baldwin can remember when beating Sherman was easy.
“To be honest, when he first switched over he was awful, he was terrible,” Baldwin said of Sherman. “He couldn’t backpedal, he couldn’t track the ball, and he didn’t really try to quick jam, because he would get lost at the line of scrimmage. We had wonderful coaches at Stanford, they kind of honed in his skills, made him focus more on the details and then when he got here he kind of blossomed into amazing defensive back that he is now. He never in his mind had doubt that he would be one of the greatest, he’s always said that he was going to be one of the greatest whether he was going to be a receiver or a defensive back. I had no doubt in him as well because I know how hard he works.”
That hard work has paid off in a big way.