Jerome Baker – May 11, 2018
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Friday, May 11, 2018
LB Jerome Baker
(We’ve heard obviously some good things about your coverage skills and saw it in a major program. Do you feel that you’re short-changed at all, in terms of maybe some people thinking … well that’s what you’re good at; but is your feeling that I can be a first or second-down run thumper if I need to be? Does that short-change you, known to be good in coverage?) – “That’s just one of my strengths. I have a lot of strengths and a lot of things I can get better at. It’s all good to me. I’m just going to go out there and perform every down.”
(How are you as a run stopper, do you think?) – “I’m good, but there’s always room for improvement, that’s for sure.”
(Do you think people make too much about your size, especially in the draft process?) – “It’s been like that my whole life. I’m cool with it. I just know when the time is on the line, the game is on the line, I can make the play.”
(Even in high school people were talking about your size?) – “Yes. I’m used to it.”
(What were they saying?) – “The same thing they say now, I’m too small; but I can play ball, that’s for sure.”
(It seems like all of your best games in college were against Michigan, Oklahoma, the really big-name opponents. What was it about those games that brought out the best in you?) – “I don’t know about you guys, but I was taught that the best players shine in the biggest games. I just try to do my best and it just so happens that the big games is where I perform my best.”
(If anyone ever doubted your ability as a three down back, what games would you tell them to turn on to prove otherwise?) – “Just watch me every game. I just go out there and do what I do. That’s pretty much it for me. There is a lot of talking and all of that; but when it’s time to play, that’s what I do. Just play.”
(Have you seen LB Raekwon McMillan yet?) – “Yes, I said what’s up to him. He made fun of me a few times.”
(What’s it been like to kind of reunite with LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “It’s cool to see a familiar face. There’s a lot of new faces so it was cool to see him.”
(What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to get out of … Let’s start small, this weekend?) – “Learn as much as I can. Learn the building, learn the playbook, learn faces. That’s all I’m looking forward to this weekend. Just learning.”
(When you saw the playbook for the first time, or the tablet or whatever, you thought what?) – “You better get to work. That’s it. It was cool just to see a different playbook. I’ve been around Ohio State for a while, so to see a different one was fun. And you’ve got that different energy of I’m willing to learn, I’m ready to learn. It’s definitely fun.”
(Wouldn’t you have matched up directly with TE Mike Gesicki quit a bit?) – “Yes.”
(How many of the games during your time there were you specifically matched up with him and what can you tell us? What do you remember from those matchups?) – “I can’t remember the exact times, how many; but he’s a great player. That’s all there is to that. He’s a great player and he’s definitely going to compete.”
(What was difficult about him? What were the challenges and how do you feel they went, overall, you and him battling head to head?) – “He’s big. He can definitely go get the ball and all of that. His routes are good; but I look at the team aspect. He got me one year and I got him the last. This league is what have you done for me lately, and we got the win (last year).”
(It’s obviously a challenge for linebackers to keep up with fleet-footed running backs. What made you effective doing that?) – “Learning tendencies, pretty much just staying in the playbook and film work. Physical skills are going to catch up to it. That’s what makes me effective.”
(After the draft, or after you were selected, GM Chris Grier mentioned just how fast you were and then he mentioned your time at the combine. He said, ‘I don’t know what he ate that day, I don’t know what happened but normally he’s way faster than this.’ What happened at the combine and maybe why the time wasn’t what you might have expected?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you. I just know when it’s time to play, I’m fast. There’s a difference between clock speed and game speed. I didn’t get the time I wanted, but on film and on tape, all of that, I run fast.”
(What was the time that you wanted?) – “At the Combine I wanted to break the record. It was a 4.41 or something like that. I didn’t get it, but it’s all good.’
(What did it mean to you to be an Ohio State linebacker? You guys have a storied history and was there pressure and how did you deal with that pressure, if it existed? – “Not pressure. It’s a standard. Our linebackers are known to be great linebackers, so I just wanted to uphold that standard. Now the real task is here. I’m definitely excited.”
(Has Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke told you where you’re going to start at? Will you do only weak side or does he want you to learn multiple spots?) – “No. Just learn the defense. That’s what I’m getting started to do.”
(When you say people have always overlooked you because of your size all the way back to high school, is it something that you hear about on the field? Is it something that opposing players will trash talk you about during games?) – “No. If you ask anybody that plays against me, they don’t mention my size at all. It’s hard looking from the outside in. On the field, I do my job. That’s all I can do.”
(Was there ever a coach or anything, even back to high school, that told you you’re too small to play this position or that or do whatever it is that you wanted to do?) – “It’s been the same. Guys say it but once I actually play against you, you really don’t even notice how small or big I am. It’s all good.”
(A lot of people talk about, for linebackers, how important it is to stack and shed lineman; but there’s different ways to get around that. You don’t always have to meet a guy head on. What have been varying techniques that you have used to maybe beat a guy to a spot?) – “Different places … I was asked to do a lot of different things at Ohio State. So when people say ‘You weren’t big on shedding,’ a lot of times I was asked to do a lot of different things that weren’t usual, just because of my speed. People don’t know that inside … You have to be in the room to know that. That was a little secret. I guess you could say that. I can do it all. That’s pretty much all I can do.”
(So it’s not about whether you can do it, it’s what you were asked to do?) – “Right. I’m one of those guys that whatever you ask me to do, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
(When you talk to LB Raekwon McMillan, what did he tell you was the toughest part about making that transition from the college game to the NFL?) – “He just said take one day at a time, learn one install at a time and just have fun. He said I got to this point because I can play football, so that’s all you have to do is focus on that.”
(Has there been any part of this experience that was surreal to you, like when you walked in the building or when you sat down with somebody or a particular player you might have seen around the facility? Anything where you were just like “Wow, this is really happening?”) – “As soon as I got off the plane I looked around and I was like, ‘Alright, this is warm. I’m not used to that this time of the year. I’m away from home.’ That’s when it finally hit me is when I got off that plane. (I knew) it was time to get to work.”
(This is warm to you?) – “This is warm. It’s freezing up where I’m from. (laughter)”
(This isn’t warm. This is kind of mild actually.) – “Well, it’s great weather to me. That’s for sure. (laughter)”
(Who were the leaders of the Ohio State defense?) – “We had so many great leaders. Different rooms had different leaders. That’s what made it unique. Me and (Chris) Worley pretty much led the linebackers. The d-line, there were so many of those guys from Sam (Hubbard), Tyquan (Lewis) … I’m not going to name them because then they’re going to see it, so I’m just going to say the d-line was awesome. The safeties, we had ‘E-Smith’ (Erick Smith), Damon Webb. The corners – Denzel (Ward). There were so many guys that we did that four units coming together as one.”
(So did you have any problems stepping up at a time of adversity, when things were not going great, like on the field? Were you one of the guys…) – “Yes. I don’t say I’m a vocal leader and I don’t say I’m a leader that’s quiet and doesn’t say anything. I’m kind of in between. I see how things are going and I step into that role of what I have to do. I can’t say I’m one or the other. I’m more of a mix of in between.”
(What NFL player would you say you model your game after?) – “I was a big fan of (Ryan) Shazier. That was the one player … I saw him my junior year (of high school). I was getting recruited by Ohio State and he played Indiana. It was freezing cold and he had like 20-something tackles. That’s when I became a big fan of Shazier.”
(Were you watching when LB Ryan Shazier got injured?) – “I wasn’t watching that game but I’ve seen the clip. It’s unfortunate but it’s part of the game. He’s definitely going to come back strong.”
(Did you see LB Ryan Shazier at the draft?) – “When he walked out? I saw him at the draft, yes.”
(What did you think about that?) – “It just shows how strong (Ryan Shazier) is. He’s never going to quit. I talked to him a little bit at the spring game. He’s just one of those guys. He’s never going to quit, that’s for sure.”
(What did you say to LB Ryan Shazier?) – “I don’t really remember. (laughter) I was just so excited to see him. It was pretty cool to see one of the guys you look up to. It was all good.”
(What about LB Ryan Shazier’s game do you think you do as well or close to him?) – “His speed. Just his attack mindset. Pretty much everything. When he came out of college, they were saying the same thing that he was too small. He just performed every Sunday. That’s what I try to do.”
