North Carolina State University Athletics
Program Spotlight: Toney Baker
12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tim Peeler
No one has savored the 2009 football season more than NC State senior tailback Toney Baker.
Nothing can spoil this for Baker, no matter what the Wolfpack’s final record is after today’s season finale against traditional rival North Carolina.
“It feels great to be playing, to be contributing on the football field, to be out there with my teammates and able to give it everything I have,” Baker said. “It has been real special for me to be able to compete.”
That’s because, for nearly two full seasons, Baker had to sit idle on the sidelines, unable to contribute to the Wolfpack cause while recovering from two separate knee surgeries. Now in his fifth season at NC State, the High Point, N.C., native has learned to appreciate what he missed.
“To have the opportunity to compete and play again is a wonderful thing,” Baker said. “If you have ever had something you love taken away, then you understand that. If you truly love the game, you understand where I am coming from.
“Having it stripped away makes me appreciate the opportunity to play.”
Baker came to NC State in 2005 after a record-breaking career at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, N.C. He gained 10,231 rushing yards and scored 161 touchdowns in his four-year career, breaking North Carolina High School Athletic Association records set by former Wolfpack tailback T.A. McLendon..
As a freshman, he competed with three other prep All-Americans in the Wolfpack backfield – Bobby Washington, Darrell Blackman and Andre Brown – to gain 546 yards and score five touchdowns. As a sophomore, he led the Wolfpack in rushing with 688 and six touchdowns.
He was confident, as he began his junior season, that he could improve those impressive numbers, that he could help the Wolfpack, that he could position himself to play in the NFL, just as his father, former East Carolina running back Tony Baker, did for three years in the late 1980s.
But, on an innocuous running play in the second quarter of the 2007 season opener against Central Florida, Baker’s dreams were seemingly derailed. Baker had already carried the ball 10 times for 38 yards and caught three passes for 38 yards and was clearly ready to emerge as a workhorse for then-new coach Tom O’Brien’s offense.
After spinning away from a tackler, Baker was taken down after a long run, but was hit on the knee on the final tackle. Having never suffered a major injury before, Baker didn’t know how badly he was hurt. But the day after the game, he was told there was no ligament damage but that he had torn cartilage in his knee. He needed immediate surgery to graft cartilage from other parts of his knee, in hopes of regenerating growth.
But, he was told, the likelihood he would ever play football again was dim.
He spent months struggling to navigate NC State’s brick-covered campus on crutches. The rehabilitation and recovery was difficult, reinforcing the doctor diagnosis that his career could be over. He missed the rest of the 2007 season and 2008 spring practice.
“Just watching, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to contribute was really tough,” Baker said. “Being away from the game in general was hard to take.
He tried to come back in the fall of 2008, but doctors discovered more cartilage damage that needed to be cleaned up. He had another surgery that caused him to miss his second straight season. But doctors were actually encouraged to see cartilage growing again in the knee.
And, as disappointing as it was to miss another season, Baker was optimistic that he could return at full strength. He was diligent about his rehab and kept working hard on his academics.
He’s proud to be taking his final class this fall and will graduate with a degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism in December.
“To spend this time getting a degree, that is very satisfying to me,” Baker said. “That is important to me.”
Baker was given a clean bill of health prior to spring practice and came into fall camp as good as ever.
“I just wanted to help the team the best way possible,” Baker said. “I knew after camp, I was feeling good. I just wanted to everything that was in my power to help the team the best way possible. Kind of take it one game at a time and be thankful for every play I got to play.”
He has performed well throughout the season. He heads into the final game of the season as the team’s leading rusher. He has rushed for 711 yards and is tied for the team lead with nine touchdowns (six rushing, three receiving).
He has also become even more rounded, improving his blocking skills and becoming a bigger threat in the passing game. He has a career high 25 receptions for 312 yards.
Baker’s comeback season has earned him the respect of the NC State coaching staff, fans and his teammates.
“Toney has come back and played really well,” said sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson. “Toney has always been an NFL caliber running back in my mind. He is a momentum changer, in the way he runs the ball hard. He has an extra burst in sixth gear that he puts it in. He’s a big kid, so he doesn’t look like he would have that burst. But he can run away from people.”
Wilson was a training partner with Baker and Andre Brown in preseason training camp in 2007 and saw how much effort the powerful running back put into his preseason preparations.
“He comes out every day,” Wilson said. “He loves it. His adoration for football has definitely heightened the last couple of years because he has been away from the game. You can tell he is loving every minute of it. You can see that on the practice field and in the game field, on the sidelines when he comes back after scoring a touchdown.”
The good news for the Wolfpack is that Baker has an option of returning for a sixth season. NC State petitioned the NCAA to grant Baker an extra year of eligibility, something that is possible for a student-athlete who has missed two seasons because of injuries.
Head coach Tom O’Brien was informed on Nov. 19 that Baker’s appeal had been granted. But Baker has until January to decide if he wants to return to NC State or perhaps follow his father’s footsteps to professional football.
“It’s just nice to have the option of coming back,” Baker said.
Baker would easily be the oldest and most experienced player on the Wolfpack’s roster next season.
“I think probably next year, I could continue to be a good leader,” Baker said. “I could help out a lot. This program has a bright future. Next year I think it will be a good team.”
Who knows? Baker had fun playing against this season. Next year might be even more enjoyable.
