SOUTH BEND — A bottle of water has never been more important to Tosh Baker, a fifth-year offensive lineman for Notre Dame football, than on the last morning of winter.
Although he was on the practice field for barely 90 minutes in his second spring training, the hulking 6-foot-8, 321-pound Baker was sweating afterwards. Beads of sweat gathered and danced across his forehead. His blue T-shirt was soaked. His padded hands were saturated. Session after session of him doing something he absolutely wants to do, even after years of waiting overtime to do it for Notre Dame.
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Do you wake up early to Google for a position meeting? Would you like to practice some of us on a cold March morning in Michiana? Is there more work on technique or critiques outside after practice? It's all worth it for Baker.
“I love wearing the helmet,” he said. “There's nothing better than this. We all joke, and it's not really a joke, but it was the best job I've ever had. You can also wear a helmet and hit people.
“Well, is that fun?”
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It's a lot more fun for Baker than the previous four seasons, but we'll get to that later. First, a water bottle.
It is standard procedure for players selected for post-practice media interviews to wait with bottled water in a designated interview area on the upper level of the Irish Athletic Center. Most people ignore it and instead choose to scrutinize the questions and answers as quickly as possible.
Baker stumbled up the stairs, looked at his name on the placard, and smiled broadly when he spotted the bottle. For him, it was a reward.
“Can I get some water?'' he said. “wonderful.”
Baker then sat down for 14 minutes to talk about his game, his path to playing and his time at Notre Dame. Until that day, he had been a blank slate. He had never had a group interview. You spend 10 seconds with him and you feel as if you've known Baker for years and you feel like you can talk to him about anything.
On this day, Baker talked about everything from the minutiae of the offensive line (yawn) to concussions to Guitar Hero (yo!). As an offensive lineman, he's as easy-going as anyone. Even though he is a person of that size, he should calm down.
Baker's journey as a college offensive lineman did not follow a linear path to playing time. Very few people do that. There were twists and turns, ups and downs, good days and bad days, and moments when Baker wondered if it was all worth it.
There were very few days when Baker thought about packing up and heading back to Scottsdale, Arizona. What head coach Marcus Freeman said to his team one day, and what he continues to say to his team these days, resonated with Baker far more than tracking snap counts or starts.
“The future is uncertain,” Baker said. “You have to love the journey. I think that's the best part. It's a day-to-day (deal). You can't take it for granted.”
but …
“I didn't always like to travel,” Baker said.
This place has always been home
Baker didn't like traveling because he didn't understand it. Or just accept it. In 2021, he was a redshirt freshman trying to figure out what an offensive lineman has to figure out when tasked with a role he probably wasn't ready to play.
Freshman Blake Fisher started at left tackle in Florida State's season opener, but was sidelined with a knee injury. Michael Carmody started at left tackle the following week against Toledo, but sprained his ankle. In Weeks 3 and 4 of the season, Baker started only two games at left tackle in his career.
Baker didn't know what he didn't know. It was winging, praying, pass blocking and hoping for the best. He started those two games, but was sidelined with a concussion heading into the home game against Cincinnati. This was Baker's first and only concussion.
“That's part of the game,” he said. “It's unfortunate that something like that happened, but this experience and these past few years have allowed me to grow a lot. That's what really benefited me.”
Carmody returned to the starting lineup against Cincinnati, but was sidelined with an ankle injury. That's when the Irishman switched to left tackle the following week for the fourth time in six weeks. That's when Joe Alto joined the starting lineup and never left.
Ault was likely to be a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft, and Baker served as a backup. When tackled. On guard. He did see some time on special teams, but that was it.
For Baker, that didn't matter.
“I don't want to say (I) took it for granted,” Baker said of starting. “I just think I was young. I was a young man. Now that I've grown and matured and understood football better, understood my body better, my technique has improved, it's just me. I think it's much more advantageous.”
Baker remains the starting right tackle this spring thanks to Fisher. Baker started at left tackle due to Fisher's knee injury. Fisher opting out of the 2023 Sun Bowl against Oregon State opens up the possibility for Baker to compete for the spot with Aamir Wagner.
Baker started in the Sun Bowl and was part of a revamped offensive line that led the Irish to a 40-8 victory with 24 first downs, 236 rushing yards and 468 total yards. It was a fun day for the Irish. It was a fun day for Baker, and one play gave him confidence that he could compete.
It was an inside zone read to the right. Baker fired and blocked his opponent. Right guard Billy Schlaus took a shot and blocked the other man. Jadarian Price took the handoff and raced 54 yards. The play didn't go well until the end, but it gave the Irish some breathing room as they started deep in their own half.
“We were high-fiving on the field,” Baker said. “That was really the moment we were like, ‘Okay.’” We’re moving on. it's okay. ”
All is well these days for Baker, who is sharing first-team reps with Wagner at right tackle. With Alt and Fisher leaving for the NFL, Baker, 21, becomes the old head of the O-line room. On this day, Alt and Fisher returned to campus for their pro day. This allowed Baker to ask Alt about how to see the game better and ask Fisher about how to release from the line even faster.
Often he is the one who mentors young people.
“Tosh has helped me a lot,” Wagner said. “To have the opportunity to work closely with someone who has been here so long, he has such a wealth of knowledge. Being able to bounce ideas off him is great.”
Baker has come a long way since the pair started in 2021, but he's also the first to admit there's still a ways to go. An offensive lineman's job is never done. There's always another person handling it, adjusting another aspect of the game, working on another area. For Baker, there are always things to adjust: body movement, mechanics, footwork, hand position, eye position, and eye movement.
For someone who didn't know what he didn't know, Baker now does. When you look back at the player and person he is in 2021, you won't recognize him. Who is that… child?
“I'm a completely different person, mentally and physically, to the point where I don't think I can do it anymore,” he said. “I know the ball a lot more than I did back then. I feel more comfortable with my body, my pass sets and my run blocking.
“Everything feels better.”
It feels right, and in many ways, it's always felt that way for Baker. He could have walked away. He probably should have left. He stayed because of the bigger picture. Because of the trip.
“I’m very happy to still be here and competing for Notre Dame,” he said. “This is where I want to be.”
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
