TIM PEELER: Baker mows down Eastern Kentucky
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2005
NC State 54, Eastern Kentucky 10
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- NC State freshman tailback Toney Baker didn't find out until Saturday morning that he would be making his first collegiate start later that evening.
It didn't particularly faze him that he would be lining up on NC State's first offensive play against Eastern Kentucky in front of 56,747 fans instead of the couple hundred that used to attend his prep games when he was an All-America at Jamestown's Ragsdale High School.
And it didn't faze him when he had the opportunity to dart through the line, run down the field or run over an opposing player when he needed to, in an impressive showing in the Wolfpack's 54-10 victory over the Colonels.
"I just did whatever I needed to do to help the team," said the freshman tailback, who amassed more than 10,000 career rushing yards at Ragsdale. "I saw the opportunity, thanked God and ran hard."
Eastern Kentucky safety Karl Hayden knows just how hard. When Baker broke through the middle of the line and charged down the field, en route to the second of his three first-quarter touchdowns, he saw Hayden out of the corner of his eye. He made the split-second decision to run over him instead of run away from him, knocking Hayden backward at the 7-yard line as he cruised into the end zone.
"I just lowered my shoulder," Baker said. "I just ran him over, simple as that. It's done and over."
That's what Hayden thought, too.
It was the offensive answer to the first play of the game, when Wolfpack linebacker Oliver Hoyte hit Tremayne Perkins so hard the ball popped loose, giving the Wolfpack the ball on the Eastern Kentucky 14-yard-line and setting the hard-hitting tone for the entire game. Baker scored his first career touchdown when he caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jay Davis just two plays later. But it was Baker's lowered shoulder to Hayden that really opened some eyes in the Wolfpack huddle and on the sidelines, just as he did throughout preseason practice.
"When I saw him run over that guy, I was like `Wow,' " said junior defensive end Mario Williams. "He had been carrying the ball that whole drive, and then he had the energy to do that."
It's exactly what Davis expected after seeing Baker in practice.
"He has strong legs and quick hips," said senior quarterback Jay Davis. "He is a stud. He is going to be a great player here. Once he really gets a grasp of this offense is when he is going to become dangerous. He is still learning about the game."
And because of that, Baker wasn't the Wolfpack's only choice to carry the ball, in Saturday night's game or in future games. He finished the first quarter with only seven touches, six rushes for a team-high 85 yards and one reception for 13 yards.
He didn't play after the first quarter, giving way to sophomores Bobby Washington and Blackman and fellow freshman Andre Brown. Davis believes the Wolfpack can win with any of them.
"It is eenie, meenie, miney, moe every week," Davis said about the Wolfpack's tailback situation. "And Toney was the moe this week."
Baker got the chance to start after a last-minute switch by Amato, who named sophomore Darrell Blackman the starter for the opener against Virginia Tech. After Baker scored three touchdowns on his six first quarter rushes and averaged 14.2 yards per carry, it certainly seemed like a good change of heart.
"He is certainly an outstanding back, there is no doubt about it," Amato said. But will he be in the starting lineup again next week, when the Wolfpack hosts North Carolina in a noon game at Carter-Finley Stadium?
"I am not really worried about starting next week," Baker said. "Whenever I get an opportunity, I am going to help my team out the best way I can, and I will be happy."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@mindspring.com.
