Scecina Memorial wide receiver and three-star Indiana commit David Baker has signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana.
Indianapolis Scecina Memorial wide receiver David Baker has signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana on the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Baker has been committed to Indiana since the end of June, when he became the 11th commitment to Indiana's 2020 class. He picked the Hoosiers over Iowa, Purdue, Washington State and Cincinnati, and when he committed, he remained "100-percent committed" to the Hoosiers all the way through.
“I’m still 100-percent committed,” The No. 5 in-state product told TheHoosier.com in September. “There have been a lot of coaches and teams trying to get a hold of me, but I’m 100-percent still committed."
Baker exploded onto the Indianapolis scene as a sophomore in 2017, when he recorded 60 catches for 971 yards and 14 touchdowns with his All-State quarterback and current Ball State pitcher Mac Ayers. Once he repeated that effort in 2018 with 63 catches for 799 yards and 11 touchdowns, he was named to the IFCA Top-50 All-State team, along with Purdue receiver David Bell, Ohio State linebacker Craig Young, Duke receiver Eli Pancol and Northwestern receiver Bryce Kirtz.
Once Ayers graduated and Scecina Memorial couldn't push the ball downfield in the passing game as often, Baker's role morphed into a blocking receiver, and he began receiving more passes out of screens along the sidelines.
Baker's willingness to block for his record-setting running back, Tyishaun Woods, and work as a cornerback and on special teams displayed several other facets to his skillset that are more than catching passes and will likely result in him at least being a special teams play as a true freshman.
"That's probably the biggest thing they've said, how there's a need for guys that can go up and get the ball and are deep threats, and they said that I fill those positions," Baker told TheHoosier.com about IU's pitch to him in April. "And how when I learn the plays and go through Coach Ballou's summer conditioning and Dr. Rhea's speed training and I do all those things, then I should have a really good shot of playing early."
