In August of last year, Japhen Baker was fighting for playing time on El Dorado’s defense. A year later, the senior is expected to be a two-year starter at center.
As one of two returning starters on the offensive line, Baker has the role of a veteran leader. But, he sports the exuberance of a player still fighting to get on the field.
“It’s like an energy thing,” Baker said. “If the offensive line brings energy, then the quarterback gets energy. If the quarterback gets energy, the wide receivers get energy. The wide receiver gets energy, the running back gets energy. Now the whole team is fired up. We feed off each other and it starts with us.”
As the center, each play actually begins with Baker, which he enjoys.
“It starts the whole play off. If I don’t do my job, nobody else will get an opportunity to make plays on the field. It starts with me,” he said. “I love that about playing center. If I start it off, I lead the way and I love being a leader on the team.”
Coach Steven Jones said Baker didn’t stop working when he won the starting job.
“He’s continued to do everything that’s asked. His snaps have improved drastically since last season,” Jones said. “He’s understanding the tempo of what we’re doing offensively, playing a little bit faster than what we did last year. He’s got a full understanding of the offense and he’s doing a good job as the leader up front.”
Baker is also motivated. Despite having a shiny, new state championship ring, he insisted he’s entering this season in a grouchy mood.
“I’m playing with a chip on my shoulder. Everybody talks about last year’s team and how good it was. They just don’t know how good we are. We’ve got so many athletes coming back. They just talk about Camden and all the teams we’re playing that are going to be better. I feel like we’ve got a target on our back. I take that on me every day as a chip on my shoulder because they’re gunning for us. I want to show up and show out every time we play,” said Baker, who continued.
“Biggest motivation really (are) the naysayers. They’re writing us off and, ‘Oh, you won’t be as good,’ as the team before us. That’s my motivation every day to be better or way better than the team before. I know my teammates and I know they have a chip on their shoulder as well because there are so many people talking and saying stuff. It don’t even feel like we won a state championship. It feels like we’re still trying to win one. I love not being complacent. I love that about this team. We’re trying to get better every day.”
El Dorado hosts Camden Fairview on Friday. The Cardinals fell to Arkadelphia 41-21 last week.