Sam Baker

The Trojans' front wall anchor at the demanding left offensive tackle position, Baker has battled injury problems the last two years. When healthy, he dominated in the trenches and was pretty good while playing through pain.

Even though he missed three full games and a good portion of two others in 2007, he became only the third three-time All-American first-team selection in school history. The first to accomplish that feat was linebacker Richard Wood (1972-74), followed by quarterback Matt Leinart (2003-05).

Baker comes from a family with strong sports tradition. His uncle, Ben Baker, was an offensive lineman at Duke, playing tackle for the Blue Devils from 1969-71. His father, David, is the commissioner of the Arena Football League and formerly played basketball at UC Irvine and then professionally in Europe.

At Tustin High School, Baker earned Super Prep, Prep Star, Student Sports and Tom Lemming Prep Football Report All-American first-team honors, adding second-team accolades from USA Today. He was also chosen to the Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, The Sporting News Hot 100, Tom Lemming Top 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Tom Lemming All-West and Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first-team squads.

In addition, he garnered Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Orange County Register Fab 15, Cal-Hi Sports All-State, All-CIF Southern Section, All-CIF Division VI, Los Angeles Times All-Star and Orange County Register All-Orange County first-team recognition as a senior offensive and defensive lineman in 2002. That season, he recorded 34 tackles with 2 1/2 sacks on defense, helping Tustin advance to the CIF Division VI semi-finals.

As a junior, Baker collected Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass second-team, All-CIF Division VI, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County and All-League first-team honors. He also competed in the weight events for the school's track team.

Baker enrolled at Southern California in 2003, spending the season performing as an offensive guard on the scout team. The following season, he shifted to left offensive tackle, starting 13 games. He was named to the Football Writers, The Sporting News, Collegefootballnews.com and Rivals.com Freshman All-American first-teams, adding All-Pac-10 Conference second-team while collecting 74 knockdown blocks. He was also named the team's Offensive Lineman of the Year, the first freshman to be honored as such as a Trojan.

In 2005, Baker continued to elevate his play. The CBS SportsLine.com All-American first- team choice added third-team recognition from the Associated Press and Rivals.com. He collected first-team All-Pac-10 Conference first-team accolades and was named the team's Co-Lifter of the Year. In 13 games, he delivered 103 knockdowns, including a dozen touchdown-resulting blocks, despite playing the final month of the regular season with a bone chip in his left knee.

As a junior, Baker shared team Lifter of the Year and Offensive Lineman of the Year honors. He was a first-team All-American pick by the Football Writers Association, The Sporting News, CBS SportsLine.com, Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was again selected to the All-Pac-10 Conference first-team, helping the offense average 385.46 yards per game. He graded 85.85% for blocking consistency, posting 109 knockdowns, including 14 touchdown-resulting blocks.

After having left knee surgery in January, Baker was slowed early in the season by a cracked rib that he suffered during a mid-August scrimmage prior to the 2007 season. He sat out games against Notre Dame, Oregon State and California and saw limited action vs. Oregon after he strained his hamstring vs. Arizona. He still garnered All-American first-team honors from the Walter Camp Foundation and was an All-Pac-10 first-team pick. He again shared USC Offensive Lineman of the Year Award honors, as he produced 88 knockdowns and 12 touchdown-resulting blocks.

Positives: Has a tall frame with solid overall muscle development, good arm length, wide hips and thighs, good lower-body thickness -- especially in the thighs and calves -- big, strong hands and room on his frame to add at least another 20 pounds of bulk without a negative impact...Has good quickness off the snap, running with a normal stride and builds his acceleration nicely...Has the initial step to gain advantage off the ball and will generally play on his feet when stationary, showing good balance to slide and re-adjust in pass protection...Knows how to sink his weight and drop his pads to generate a strong anchor...Hits the defenders instantly coming off the ball, delivering power behind his arm swipes...Gains position and sustains blocks when he plays with a wide base and arms extended...Has the leg drive to steer and pin the defender, but needs to be more consistent with his knee-bend...Can gain position working in-line when he keeps his pad level down and shows decent explosion when generating cut blocks...Plays a bit bent at the waist, but has the upper-body strength to jolt and control his man...Once he gets his hands on an opponent, the battle is over...Uses hands properly to turn the defender, as he is very quick to set and extend, delivering a forceful jab and punch on the pass rusher...Better gaining position on in-line blocks than on the move, as he aggressively works to control and widen rush lanes...Has enough agility to make the reach block, doing a solid job of walling off on screens...Alert to stunts and the blitz, working hard to maintain a low base, using his long arms to extend and lock into the defender...Competes and works hard in the weight room and shows good communication skills to work well with the offensive guard in picking up stunts with ease...Shuffles his feet well setting up in pass protection but lacks sustained quickness...Can quickly redirect a defender when he gets his hands on him, as he throws those hands with very good timing to press and keep the defensive end at bay...Compensates for a lack of ideal lateral movement by playing flat-footed when trying to recover in his kick-slide...While he might struggle with fast movement in the second level, he does a good job of blocking when his man is directly in front of him. Negatives: Can lock on and control his man at the line of scrimmage and runs with a normal stride, but will struggle to adjust to movement working into the second level...Not used much on traps and pulls, as he takes poor angles in attempts to neutralize linebackers...Needs to keep his feet when working in space, as he will overextend at times in attempts to engage a moving target...Balance is much better working in-line, as he gets his base too narrow when having to move long distances...Has a strong hand punch, but his hands are not quick, causing him to have problems adjusting instantly to counter moves (especially cross-face action)...Will sometimes get his hands outside his frame, resulting in wild whiffs in attempts to sustain...Crosses his feet at times when trying to retreat in pass protection and is susceptible to speed moves off the edge...Just an adequate student, but does show good coverage recognition skills on the field...For a player with his impressive strength, he needs to generate a strong hand jolt with better consistency...Plays with good effort, but needs to stay on blocks longer...Relies more on power than technique, lacking the true explosion you would want from someone his size coming off the snap...Needs to improve his footwork a bit, as he seems hesitant redirecting to inside moves...Will punch and jab at defenders rather than trying to push off. Compares To: JEFF BACKUS-Detroit...Baker is a strong, physical straight-line blocker who is best when working in-line. He struggles with second-level defenders because he lacks ideal lateral range, but is a good mauler who sustains blocks and widens the running lane. He has enough initial quickness off the snap to gain advantage and plays flat-footed, demonstrating the hand punch to shock and jolt his man. He needs to be quicker with his hands, as he is too inconsistent with cross-face counter moves and, when he gets too tall in his stance and narrow in his base, the defender has some success in pulling him off balance. Finishing his blocks is an area in which he could improve, but Baker is a good mauler with the hand strength to dominate in one-on-one situations.

Campus: 5.28 in the 40-yard dash...485-pound bench press...600-pound squat...353-pound power clean...33 1/8-inch arm length...9 3/4-inch hands...Right-handed.
 

2005: Suffered a bone chip in his left knee vs. California (11/12), but did not miss any playing time.

2006: Played all year with a left knee sprain, undergoing arthroscopic surgery after the season that limited him in 2007 spring drills.

2007: Suffered a slight cracked rib in a mid-August scrimmage...Did not play vs. Notre Dame (10/20) after missing the second half of the previous game vs. Arizona (10/13) with a hamstring strain...Returned vs. Oregon (10/27), but re-injured his hamstring and was forced to sit out the next two contests vs. Oregon State and California.