University of Massachusets Athletics
Baylark Feature: Rookie Follows In Shipp's Footsteps
August 10, 2007 | Football
Aug. 10, 2007
By Timothy Gorman
The Arizona Republic
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - For four years, Marcel Shipp didn't hear much about Steve Baylark. Shipp had met the heir apparent to his University of Massachusetts running back job on Baylark's recruiting trip but months later the NFL came along and, well, he was kind of busy.
Then once Baylark started his junior season in 2005, Shipp, a veteran Cardinals running back, heard all about Baylark.
"I didn't even know he had my number (5)," Shipp said. "(During the 2005 season) one of my friends called me and said, 'There's a kid just like you. He runs just like you and plays just like you. He's bent over with his hands on his knees just like you.' "
Baylark spent four years at UMass chasing Shipp's records. Now he's fourth on the depth chart for the Cardinals, trying again to be like Shipp and make the roster as an undrafted free agent on special teams.
"As a free agent, you rarely get your chances so you just gotta make the best of it," Baylark said last week. "It's a lot of hard work and competition and it's fast."
Four Minutemen are in NFL camps this summer and Shipp and Baylark are the only running backs. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said former UMass coach Mark Whipple often talked about Shipp and Baylark when he worked with Whisenhunt for three seasons on the Pittsburgh Steelers' staff.
That may be the only reason the two ended up on the same team. Baylark said he didn't hear much from NFL teams after rushing for 1,960 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior season.
"I didn't talk to the Cardinals for the first time until just after the draft," he said. "The (East-West Shrine All Star) game went by, I didn't talk to anyone there. I worked out and I didn't talk to anyone. Five minutes after the draft, the Cardinals called and asked for my agent's number. Two minutes later, I was on the phone with (Cardinals running back coach Maurice) Carthon and he just said, 'Be ready.' "
Baylark was ready for Cardinals minicamp this summer and he made an impression on Carthon. Since then, though, Baylark's limited reps and inexperience with an NFL playbook have held him back.
"Now, a lot of stuff is on him and learning the offense is overwhelming," Carthon said. "It's my job to get him to the next level and get him past that. When the preseason starts and he gets in there, we'll see what he's got."
Baylark said the toughest adjustment in making the jump from I-AA to the NFL is the playbook. Every day, Baylark sits with his roommates BranDon Snow, Tim Castille and Roshon Vercher between practices to study. For every play, a running back needs to know his assignment, whom to block, his linemen's assignments - all while being able to improvise.
All those Xs and Os might have been a challenge for Baylark in high school. He said he made it through only because he was a football player - he was ineligible his first semester at UMass because of his grades. Only after discovering a love for art did Baylark save his degree and his eligibility.
If Baylark is cut and his football career ends, he hopes to work for EA Sports, designing covers for games. He said he wouldn't mind learning computer graphics either.
"When I was struggling at UMass, I had to find something I love and I knew that art relaxes me," he said. " . . . I used football to get through high school but once I found art, it was the best of both worlds."
