Baker brings championship experience to table

Senior compensates for lack of size with quickness and confidence

By Wes Shaw, contributing writer
Posted on September 20, 2007

In a 45-17 victory it can be hard to single out one most valuable player for the winning team. But in Saturday’s victory over VMI by that margin, JMU senior wide receiver L.C. Baker was just that.

Baker scored twice in less than 30 seconds of actual game time against the Keydets; the first coming off a 36-yard pass from senior quarterback Rodney Landers to close out the first half. Baker found the end zone again just 20 seconds into the second half, this time on an electrifying reverse from 42 yards out. Baker ended the contest with 130 all-purpose yards, his one blemish coming on a fumbled punt return that led to a score for the Keydets.

As expected from any team leader, Baker was more concerned about his team’s success than his own.

“It was just another game,” Baker said. “We went out, we executed, and I’m just glad we got the ‘W.’ Personal accolades mean nothing if we lose.”

And it was just another game in Baker’s long career. A third-year starter and an every-down player on the 2004 National Championship team, Baker has scored 15 touchdowns and accumulated more than 1,300 total yards from scrimmage in just over three years at Madison, and that doesn’t include the damage he has done on special teams.

Baker ranked second in JMU history in punt return average and punt return touchdowns, going into the season, with 11.4 and 2, respectively. He is also in the top ten all-time in seven other categories. His efforts returning punts earned him First-Team All-Atlantic-10 accolades in 2006.

However, Baker was not a heavily recruited high school prospect. Standing only 5-foot-7 and coming from little-known Armstrong High School in Richmond, Va., only a few colleges looked at him.

“When I was getting recruited, there weren’t too many people looking at me because of the size of the school I came from,” Baker said. “[Madison] saw me first, and the way Coach [Mickey] Matthews and [defensive coordinator George] Barlow pursued me was almost like another father pursuing a son.”

The  size of his high school was not the only thing that limited his exposure. Baker’s small frame also led many schools to overlook his speed.

“It probably did, but I don’t tend to worry about it,” Baker said. “I’m going be this small forever, so it is what it is.”

Despite Baker’s size, his presence on the field as both a leader and an offensive contributor is huge. When asked if he is a captain on the team, Baker sighed confidently and said, “We haven’t really assigned captains, but I consider myself one of the leaders.”

As an unofficial captain, Baker likes to be a leader of the more outspoken and vocal variety. “Sometimes you have to talk,” Baker said. “Even though they say there are leaders who don’t really talk, sometimes you have to be a vocal guy and let your voice be heard.”      

Playing for JMU every year of his college career has given Baker the confidence to be a leader on his team. He started every game at wide receiver for the Dukes last year and all but three as a sophomore. The three games he missed were due to injury; a trial in his career that Baker feels made him both a better leader and a better person.

“Being out [with injury], older guys came to me and told me, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’ll be alright,’” Baker said. “And that taught me to help people when they’re up and help them when they’re down; just all the odds and ends of being a leader.”

Baker also believes the opportunity he had to play with the 2004 Division I-AA National Championship team played an important role in the formation of his leadership abilities.

“Just [by] playing I learned a lot from the older guys.” Baker said. “It helped a lot. I was young then, but I learned just following the example of the guys ahead of me on how to be a leader and what it takes to be a winner.”

He hopes that experience can help him lead the Dukes to another National Championship this year.

“If our goal isn’t to go out and win a championship then we shouldn’t be out here,” Baker said on his hopes for this season. “That’s always the goal. First we have to get through the CAA, then to the CAA championship and then were trying to get to a national championship.”

Baker has professional football aspirations, but is realistic about the odds and has backed himself up academically in the event that his career is cut short.

“I’m pursuing an NFL career, but the odds of getting it are slim to none,” Baker said. “Obviously, I want to be one of the ones who beats those odds, but if not, I’m an accounting major and I plan on pursuing my CPA or just going into accounting.”