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LOS ANGELES — Indiana football's coaching staff never deviated from its plan for highly touted safety Byron Baldwin Jr.
The early enrollee earned rave reviews throughout the offseason — he was the team's highest-rated recruit in the 2025 signing class — and was on track to earn playing time right out of the gate until he suffered an injury during a scrimmage at the end of call camp that sidelined him until the end of October.
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After making his collegiate debut in a 56-6 win over UCLA, he ended up playing five games in the regular season.
It was a notable number since the NCAA allows freshman to play in up to four regular season games (postseason games are exempt from the limit) without burning a year of eligibility, but the coaching staff never intended to redshirt Baldwin and the injury didn't do anything to change their minds as the Hoosiers (13-0) climbed to the top of the rankings.
The majority of Baldwin's snaps came on special teams for No. 1 Hoosiers, but he helped force a fumble against Maryland and played double-digit snaps against Purdue.
"It felt kind of good to know that if my number needed to get called, they were going to call it," Baldwin said at the Rose Bowl media day on Tuesday. "There was never an obstacle, it was an always an option to go out there. They weren't going to hold me back."
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He was one of only four players from the class that didn't redshirt, a group that included defensive back Jaylen Bell along with wide receivers LeBron Bond and Davion Chandler. There were only three other true freshmen (Kyler Garcia, Garrett Reese and Tyrone Burrus) who played defensive snaps.
Baldwin, who was the only true freshman who participated in media day, didn't disclose the exact nature of the injury he suffered, but told The Herald-Times he was shut down for a period of time during the season.
"It was pretty tough just stop doing what I used to every day," Baldwin said. "I used to get up work out every day, now I had to rest and relax."
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The "slow" rehab process was a challenging one for Baldwin.
"I was comforted by the other freshmen," he said. "I wasn't traveling. When I was home, I was with the young guys, Seonta Stewart, Sean (Cuono), being around them. Them keeping me grounded, them keeping me company. They understood the process, that it was a day-to-day thing."
The experience made the playing time he received late in the year all the more rewarding. He also believed all that time closely watching the team's veteran safeties will set him up for success going forward.
"I've watched a lot, I've seen how they do everything," Baldwin said. "I understand how to keep the standard the standard. It's hard to meet the standard if you don't know what it is."
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Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Why Indiana football didn't redshirt Byron Baldwin Jr. after injury
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