ATHENS — Ben Cleveland’s country charm is playing well with the Baltimore Ravens, but it turns out the franchise was enamored with him long before he shared his first recipe for squirrel.

Coach John Harbaugh had been enamored with his team selecting Cleveland in the 2021 NFL Draft for a good bit, per an ESPN.com blog featuring the former Georgia Bulldogs’ All-SEC offensive guard.

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“John has been talking about Cleveland for like two months, really,” Baltimore GM Ravens Eric DeCosta said in the ESPN.com article. “So it was a relief for me to actually see him available when we picked. This was John’s pick.”

Harbaugh — the brother-in-law of Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean — was quick to admit he wanted Cleveland even before Baltimore was able to get him, with the 94th overall pick in the third round.

“Ben was a guy who we really, really wanted to get,” Harbaugh told ESPN. “I know I was being a little bit of a nervous Nellie there for a bit, [but] we held tight and we got our guy.”

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Cleveland’s size 17 shoes, country upbringing and well-documented Goliath diet make for good copy.

But his efficiency was even more impressive, per ESPN stats & Information, which documented how he allowed just 4 pressures on 473 blocks over the past 22 games, giving him the top success rate by any right guard in the SEC.

It’s also worth noting that Cleveland didn’t have a penalty in the 520 snaps he played last season.

Cleveland’s absence in the bowl win over Cincinnati was costly. The Bulldogs shuffled their offensive line, but still, managed just 45 yards rushing on 24 carries (1.9 yards per attempt).

Cleveland has yet to secure a starting position with the Ravens. The article reports he’s competing at left guard.

But the Ravens’ offensive coordinator is high on him, per the story.

“He was the best run-blocker in the draft this year,” Roman said. “We were able to draft him when we were, which is unbelievable. We’re really excited about developing Ben into an absolute road-grading offensive guard.”