By Eric Edholm
April 24, 2008

Sam Baker

Sam Baker was one of the gems in a banner recruiting class that helped build the foundation of perhaps the most talented team in the country over the past four years in USC, even if the Trojans only were able to win one national title. Baker was a rock on the offensive lines of those teams, starting since his freshman year, the championship season of 2004, carrying on the tradition of great USC linemen with Ron Yary, Bruce Matthews, Keith Van Horne, Anthony Muñoz, Tony Boselli and countless others.

The son of Arena Football League commissioner and UC-Irvine basketball player David Baker, the Trojans' lineman has a chance to be one of as many as six offensive tackles who could be drafted in Round One of Saturday’s draft. He took a few minutes to chat with PFW about playing hoops growing up, Shaquille O’Neal, watching Vince Young crush his dreams, smack-talking quarterbacks and Mom’s potato dish.

PFW: Where are you now?

Baker: I am actually in Orange County now.

PFW: Have you taken visits to teams?

Baker: I went to Atlanta last week and I (also went) to D.C. to visit the Redskins.

PFW: So I heard a story that a youth basketball practice with former Rams great Jackie Slater changed your life. Enlighten me.

Baker: It was when we were in sixth grade. I used to play basketball, and I used to get really upset when we lost. My dad was the coach at the time, and so Matt Slater — Jackie’s son — was on the team and (Jackie) used to always come over to me because I used to get really frustrated playing basketball. And he would come over and say, “This doesn’t matter. You are not a basketball player. You’re going to be an offensive lineman. You’re a football player. Don’t even worry about this.” And I used to sit there, and everyone used to always get his autograph, and I would be like, “Who is this guy and what is he talking about?”

PFW: Well, you know now.

Baker: Oh yeah. I am glad I listened, too.

PFW: Were you playing football at the time?

Baker: No, I had never played football. I was always too heavy as a kid to play the Pop Warner league.

PFW: What did your dad think at the time? He was a decent hoops player from what I have read.

Baker: Yeah, see, he always thought I was going to be a basketball player, but I started growing out instead of up, so I had to find a new trade.

PFW: Speaking of Dad, what’s the coolest thing about Arena football?

Baker: I have never seen another product like it that’s just for the fans. And that’s what it’s all about: the fans. Even the players playing the game understand that. They know it’s geared toward the fans, and if you’re at a home game, you’ll see the home team just loving the fans. I don’t think there’s anything like that in sports.

PFW: How many Arena games have you been to?

Baker: Oh, man, probably a hundred.

PFW: After USC won it all in 2004, be honest — did you think you were going to win a title every year in your career?

Baker: Yeah, I really did. I thought for sure we would win it the next year, the year we (lost to) Texas in the Rose Bowl. I thought for sure we’d win it all. It just seemed like the way we were recruited and the way we kept going, I thought for sure that we would win at least two more.

PFW: Following the Rose Bowl loss, what did you do? I heard you were pretty distraught.

Baker: Yeah, it was really special to my Dad. I was pretty pissed and didn’t say anything the whole ride home. That was such a tough game to take when we had it won and then Vince (Young) did his miracle stuff. But that was a tough time, and I started thinking about the next year, and (my Dad and I) started talking about next year, so that was what it was about.

PFW: How close were you to coming out for the draft early?

Baker: Not very close. I always wanted to be the best I could be when I was getting ready to get to the pros. And I think another year has helped me a lot. I never wanted to disrespect the NFL and leave when I might not be ready.

PFW: I am sure you have gotten stronger and faster in that year, but was there some hidden value in returning that helped you the most?

Baker: I think maturity. I had never been injured, and learning that process and how that goes was key. That was a tough thing to take for me this year. I think if I would have been a rookie in the league and that happened, that would have been awful. That would have been really tough.

PFW: Who is the best pass rusher you have faced on another team?

Baker: Pass rusher, I would probably say (UCLA’s) Bruce Davis.

PFW: I am talking to him in a few days. What do you like best about his game?

Baker: He has a natural feel for pass rushing and setting up tackles. He has really long arms and he can stack people. I think he also understands the game and how to rush really well.

PFW: Who is the strongest guy you have gone against?

Baker: The defensive end from Nebraska last year, Adam Carriker (now on the Rams). He was really strong. He was built like a tackle. He was pretty strong.

PFW: Which current USC guy will be the highest draft pick in the 2009 draft?

Baker: (LB) Brian Cushing. He loves the game. He has a passion for it. He’s a really intelligent guy, and he is willing to outwork everyone, too. Obviously, he’s physically gifted, but he has a work ethic that not many guys with his talent have.

PFW: Give me some dirt on your college quarterback, John David Booty, who is also going to be drafted.

Baker: All right, well this never happened, but we always talked about it. We used to live together when we were freshmen — the Orange Bowl year — and we had a big house with us two, Ryan Kalil (now with the Panthers), Matt Cassel (now with the Patriots), and we all lived in this big place. Booty and I used to sit on the back porch and he would always talk about what was going to happen when was (going to be) quarterback. And he always told us that during practice or a game that once he got the reins, if he didn’t feel that we had the energy we needed he was going to fight a D-lineman. So I remember the first day of spring ball, we were trying to talk (DE) Lawrence Jackson into going over and hassling him and seeing if he would fight him. But it never happened.

PFW: Too bad. That might have been classic. Would you play guard? Or are you hoping to get a chance to play tackle?

Baker: Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter to me. Whatever a team needs me at the most, I am very open (to a change).

PFW: When was the last time you played guard? Scout team your freshman year?

Baker: Yeah, pretty much.

PFW: What do you see as the biggest difference in playing inside?

Baker: It’s just a little tighter (inside), and at tackle there’s definitely a little more space. They are similar, but there is that difference in spacing.

PFW: What team have you interviewed the best with so far? Was there one meeting where you walked away feeling pretty good about things?

Baker: I don’t know. All of them have a pretty good feel when you leave. But there was one weird one at the Combine. Usually everyone is sitting there, 11 coaches or whatever, but the Colts had a sports psychologist, a woman, and it was the only person in their (interview) room. They had me take a test at the Senior Bowl, and she gave me my results there at that meeting. That was definitely a weird one.

PFW: How did you do?

Baker: I don’t know! (laughs) I couldn’t really tell if I did well. She was just asking me questions to verify the results.

PFW: When I saw you at the Senior Bowl, the goatee was looking solid, several inches long. Are you still rocking the facial hair?

Baker: No, it’s gone. It left before the Combine. I got a lot of bad feedback on it at the Senior Bowl, so I thought, you know what? I am not trying to put out this bad image. You know what I mean? I am trying to show what I am about, so hopefully it will help people get past the beard.

PFW: Trivia time: You and Matt Leinart were two of the three USC players to be named three-time All-Americans. Do you know the third?

Baker: Richard Wood.

PFW: Impressive! Do you know him?

Baker: I talked to him on the phone before. My Dad met him at the College Hall of Fame, where he was being inducted. And he had to give me a call.

PFW: What teams did you grow up rooting for?

Baker: I was always a Jackie Slater fan after he pointed me to football, and my Dad was always involved with him. So I rooted for him. (laughs) Up until high school, I really didn’t watch my football. It was all basketball for me, but once I got into football I was crazy for it.

PFW: So don’t tell me you are a Lakers fan.

Baker: Not even.

PFW: Good. I am a Celtics guy.

Baker: I was a big Shaq fan when he first came out of college. My Dad and I went to see him in Phoenix when he tore down the backboard. So after that, that guy was amazing to me. I watched everything he did.

PFW: Music you’re really into right now?

Baker: I listen to a lot of stuff. I like Christian music and a little bit of rap. Kind of opposite ends of the spectrum. Gotta have a balance.

PFW: What would be your dream home-cooked meal?

Baker: Oh, man. My Mom makes these cheesy potatoes, and that’s probably it. I can eat a plate of those.

PFW: Where will you be on Draft Day?

Baker: I’ll be at my Mom’s house in Tustin. It’s in Orange County.

PFW: Who all is coming?

Baker: My Mom, Dad, my fiancée and my brother.

PFW; Oh, you’re engaged? Congrats!

Baker: Yeah, that’s a recent thing. We got engaged in December.

PFW; OK, spill it. Let’s hear the story of how you proposed.

Baker: (laughs) Actually, it’s not a great story. It’s not even close to a great story. I got some money (after) the bowl game, and she needed a new car. So I asked her, “Would you rather me help you get a new car? Or would you rather have a ring?” She said she wanted a ring.

PFW: Women will make that choice every time. And she can get the car when you get your first contract.

Baker: Very true!