ROCKINGHAM – Jakolbe Baldwin, a sophomore wide receiver on the Richmond Senior High School varsity football team, has been named the first Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.
ROSports brings back its successful “Athlete of the Week” segment for the second consecutive school year, as all RSHS fall programs are now in action. Under a new format, the feature will continue to highlight one male and one female student-athlete each week for their performance on their respective playing surfaces. Junior volleyball player Layne Maultsby earned the female recognition Tuesday.
In his first season at the varsity level, Baldwin is one of several underclassmen wide receivers who has stepped up after senior standout receiver Malik Stanback, a recent Wofford College commit, went down with a season-ending ACL injury over the summer.
Baldwin, along with fellow sophomores Caleb Hood (quarterback), Dalton Stroman (wide receiver) and CJ Tillman (linebacker/running back) has proven to be a part of an impactful punch that has helped the Raiders out to 3-1 start. This is Baldwin’s first career selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 15
Birthday: March 1, 2003
Year: Sophomore
Fall Sport: Football
Position: Wide Receiver
Years on Varsity: 1 Year
Height & Weight: 5-11, 162 pounds
Experience: 6 Years
“CATCHING UP” WITH JAKOLBE BALDWIN
RSHS Academics: Having just started his first year on Richmond Senior High School’s campus just a few Mondays ago, Baldwin is so far liking being a Raider. He’s got a solid course load this semester that he’s been able to balance with the rigors of being a member of the football team and competing for a state championship.
Baldwin is currently taking Math III Honors with Ashleigh Larsen, Sports Entertainment Marketing, American History with Teddy Moseley, and caps off his day with fourth block weight training with football head coach Bryan Till and several of his teammates. He has 3.6 GPA, and says he enjoys working throughout the school day to get to practice.
“Math is my favorite class,” Baldwin said. “I just find math easy compared to other classes. Mrs. Larsen explains problems really well and goes into a lot of detail, which helps me a lot.”
RSHS Sports: Like many of the featured Official Richmond County Athletes of the Week before him, Baldwin is a three-sport athlete. Aside from football, which he noted as his “favorite” because he’s been playing it for so long, Baldwin is also a member of the basketball and track and field programs.
“I played every position,” Baldwin said of being a member of the Ninth Grade Academy basketball team as a freshman. “And last year with track, I ran the 4×200 relay and the 400-meter dash. It’s a lot of work, but playing three sports gives me something to do after school.”
High School Aspirations: Noting that his education is important, Baldwin has set some pretty good academic goals for himself over the next couple of years at Richmond. He explained that he’d like to “keep up with my grades and get my GPA higher”, and that he hopes to stay an A-B honor roll student. He also wants to join the African American History Club.
While he still has some time to figure out his post-secondary plans, Baldwin said he’s interested in becoming a mechanical engineer, and that his passion for math could help him out.
Athletically, Baldwin got straight to the point – he wants to win state championships with all of his programs, and sees this year as a possibility for football.
Sophomore wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin reels in a catch against David W. Butler High School last Friday.
Athlete of the Week Stats: The Raiders marched into Matthews, N.C., last Friday and accomplished their goal of picking up a big non-conference road win against Butler High School. The 30-19 victory saw Richmond explode in the middle quarters, as the Raiders scored touchdowns on four straight drives, two to close the first half, and two to open the third quarter.
Baldwin, who leads the team in several categories including receptions (14), receiving yards (270) and receiving yards per game (67.5), caught the lone receiving touchdown for either team last Friday. In the third quarter, and on Richmond’s final scoring drive, Baldwin snagged a 37-yard pass from Hood down the right sideline and beat Butler’s Donovan Law into the end zone.
On the night, Baldwin had a team-high four receptions on nine targets and collected 94 receiving yards and one touchdown. His longest catch-and-run of the night was the touchdown pass, but he caught three passes for over 20 yards, and finished the game with 23.5 yards per catch.
In the second half, Baldwin made an athletic play to collect another reception, as he leapt up over a defender and pulled the ball down in bounds. His score against Butler was his second of the year, which ties him with senior teammate Bobby Terry for the team lead.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not on the football field:
“I just like to relax and lay around the house,” Baldwin admitted. “And I like to play video games like Madden and Fortnite on my Xbox.”
2) Describe your dream vacation — where’d you go and who’d you take:
“I’d want to go to Miami and check out South Beach,” Baldwin said. “It just looks like a lot of fun, and I’d like to go back to Florida again. I’d take my mom, my sister and the rest of my family.”
3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively as a mentor, teacher or coach:
“My mom, Danielle Baldwin, has always told me to keep my grade ups and encourages me to work hard on the field,” Baldwin said. “And my old teacher and football coach Gerald Ratliff – he also told me that if I keep my grades up, I can go somewhere far. He also helped me with football and getting better.”
4) What is so special about being part of the Richmond football team and playing for Coach Till:
“I really like the way they coach us, and it’s a great experience to play here,” Baldwin noted of his playing experience so far. “I’ve really enjoyed everything about the team.”
5) Name one interesting fact that most people don’t know about you:
“My teammates always call me ‘Screw’,” Baldwin smiled. “It started in middle school, and they’re talking about my head and my hair. I embrace it and think it’s funny.”
Coach’s Corner: Till, who has always been adamant about his team’s depth at wide receiver and shared his faith in Baldwin, explained how big of a piece Baldwin is on his team’s offense.
“He made some big plays the other night with the screen that set up the touchdown catch, which Caleb dropped in the bucket,” Till said Tuesday afternoon. We grade our players each week, and the last two weeks, he’s earned a 96. He’s doing things really good right now because he’s blocking well, He was also a captain (at Butler) for his play lately.
“Jakolbe has started to develop into what we want him to be, and he works so hard and is so businesslike, which sets him up for that opportunity,” Till concluded. “My favorite thing about him is that he’s so steady for a young kid – he comes to work every single day, and doesn’t say much. He just does what he needs to and works hard.”
