Huskers Illustrated Article on Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Written By: Michael Bruntz

Picture
When Nebraska gets back to work Monday to prepare for Minnesota,
expect sophomore wide receiver turned cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste
to be battling for snaps opposite Alfonzo Dennard. We've written about
Jean-Baptiste and how intriguing he is as he makes the move from wide
receiver to cornerback.

Jean-Baptiste's move to defense is the culmination of a continuing
tug-of-war among the coaching staff that appears to have been won by
defensive coordinator Carl Pelini. Jean-Baptiste is an interesting
athlete because of how he runs for somebody his size. The recent move
to defense also wasn't the first time that coordinators have battled
to get Jean-Baptiste on either offense or defense.

Before Jean-Baptiste began his junior college career at Fort Scott
(Kan.) Community College, he spent a year at North Carolina Tech Prep,
a Charlotte-based prep school that is a national football powerhouse.

Jean-Baptiste was a quiet kid from Miami when he arrived and at first
blended in with the talent around him, North Carolina Tech Prep head
coach Tim Newman said. But as the season progressed, Jean-Baptiste
became more comfortable and started making plays.

“He's like fine wine,” Newman said. “Fine wine will always have its
time. In the biggest game of the season, he came up big for us.”

Newman recalled seeing Jean-Baptiste playing free safety at Miami
Central High School, but Newman, who is also an offensive coordinator,
brought the talented recruit in on offense.

“He was an awesome free safety,” Newman said. “To be honest with you,
being an offensive coordinator, I was biased and brought him in as a
wide receiver, but he could have easily played in our secondary and
been one of the best we've ever had here.”

Newman watched on television as Jean-Baptiste made his debut at
cornerback against Ohio State, snagging an interception that led to
Nebraska's go-ahead score. Newman has coached players who ended up in
the NFL, but said Jean-Baptiste was one of the top-three he's coached.

“He's a physical specimen,” Newman said. “He's got great feet, great
hips. He's a great receiver, so he's going to know what a great
receiver is going to try to do to him. The guy is 6-foot-3 and he runs
like a deer. A corner standing out there at 6-3, 220? Are you kidding
me? You don't even see that in the NFL.” 
Picture