Junior To Watch: Sam Baker

Junior to Watch: Sam Baker

School: Tustin, Calif.

Position: Offensive Guard/Defensive Line

Size and Speed: Sam stands 6-5, weighs 290 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds. He benches 320 pounds and squats 480 pounds.

Statistics: N/A

Honors: Sam was selected all-state, all-CIF, all-county and first-team all-league.

Favorite Schools: No favorites yet, but Sam is hearing from schools coast-to-coast. Baker told Rivals that he likes every school in the Pac10, Nebraska, Florida and Fresno State. He has offers from USC, UCLA and Fresno State (his coach told Rivals that he has an offer from CU). Look for this list to expand in the very near future. Sam’s stock is definitely hot! Before it’s all over Sam may be the most sought after offensive lineman on the west coast.

The Skinny: Sam came back from UCLA’s junior day this past weekend with an official offer but did not commit. He told Rivals that he wants to go through the recruiting process before he makes up his mind. Can you blame him? Sam’s stock is growing by the day and it’s easy to see why.

Sam is a lean athlete and he isn’t even close to filling out. He plays pulling guard on the high school level, but has the talent to play anywhere along the offensive front. Sam has tremendous quickness and for the first ten yards; Baker is as quick as anyone. His first four steps are awesome. Sam has tremendous balance and is great at pull and trap blocking.

Baker comes from a family of athletes. His father David Baker was an All-America hoops star at UCI. His brother Ben Baker is currently on a football scholarship at Duke. Sam is the next in line to follow a family tradition and that is be a D1 scholarship athlete.

Just a sidebar for Arizona Wildcat fans; Sam let Rivals know that Wildcat signee defensive lineman Paul Phillip was the toughest opponent he played against last season. “Paul Phillips has size and he is fast,” said Sam. “we had a good battle all game long.”

Stay tuned…