Tyler Badie remembers playing youth football in Randallstown and seeing Ray Lewis on the sidelines cheering for his daughter.
After being drafted by the Ravens, it's been a homecoming for the versatile running back.
“It’s definitely different – coming out here and being around Owings Mills, Badie said."I played at Northwest Regional Park, for the Wolfpack, so, it’s just weird. I haven’t been back in 11 years, so being back now is just … Everything is different – nicer buildings. I remember the train station was kind of the rundown part, but now it’s all nice and [there’s] a downtown area, so it’s pretty cool. I’m excited.”
The Raven selected Badie in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft after he set the Mizzou single-season rushing yards record with 1,604. He scored 14 rushing touchdowns on 268 carries.
Baddie also caught a team-high 54 passes for 330 yards and four scores. His 18 total touchdowns were also a team-high. He was a second-team All-American.
As a kid, he grew up rooting for the Ravens and was in awe when he saw Lewis at the local football games.
"It was actually weird because I was like, ‘Is that Ray Lewis?’" Badie said "Everyone was crowding him, and I was like, ‘That’s a big dude; I think that’s a football player.’ That’s when everyone was like, ‘That’s Ray Lewis.’ I just saw him, and I just kind of gave him his space. But as a young kid, I was excited for sure. And then I went to Ed Reed’s camp in Randallstown, like right down the street. I got an autograph from him, so that was pretty cool, too.”
Badie also played lacrosse while he lived in Baltimore and became a legitimate Division I prospect, drawing attention from Loyola University Maryland and the University of Maryland. He modeled his game after Duke midfielder Myles Jones.
“So, I went to Friends School of Baltimore, which is like right down the street," Badie said. "And that’s when Cyrus Jones was around there, so everyone was at Gilman cheering on Cyrus Jones. And we only had like 20 people at our school, so … I played lacrosse, so that was my big go-to. I played AAU lacrosse and travel lacrosse, so I was going to play lacrosse in college if I would have stayed, because with 15 people on the football team, people are not looking to give out offers like that.
"So, I just told my parents … My mom got a job opportunity in Memphis; she was like, ‘Do you want to go? We can stay if you want to.’ And I was just like, ‘Yeah, let’s go try out The South,’ because they’re known for football and stuff like that. So, luckily, everything worked out.”
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