Jerome Baker – November 6, 2019
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Wednesday, November 6, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(It seems like you are around the ball quite a bit. Do you sense any difference out there in terms of maybe comfort or anything at all?) – “Yeah, just the comfort level. My mentality is different. I kind of just push myself to no matter where the ball is at, I try to be on the play. That’s pretty much been my focus.”
(I wanted to ask you about your video and getting mic’d up and all. What sort of reaction have you gotten over it?) – “My social media has been going crazy. A lot of people just laugh at it. It just shows my personality, really. My mom was in town so when she’s in town, I kind of look for her as much as I can. I usually don’t look at the tickets before the game; but the day before I looked and it was Section 103, Row 10. So I kept trying to glance over and try to count up – 10 rows up – and I just couldn’t find her. I kind of forgot I was mic’d up so I kept saying ‘Where’s my mom? Where’s my mom?’ And they just cut it up to however many times I said it. It was a joke. It was funny but yeah, I was just kind of looking for my mom the whole game. (laughter)”
(How long did it to take to find her?) – “When Nik (Needham) got the sack and everybody was celebrating, I just stood there. I was so close I could actually see people’s faces, so I finally found her. ‘Kwon’ (Raekwon McMillan) is always next to me so I always kind of tell him like, ‘I finally found her.’ (laughter) It took me a while to actually find her though.”
(So what did your mom say about the video?) – “I actually haven’t talked to her yet. I know she’s probably loving it and soaking it all up. (laughter) My mom was there so I definitely wanted to see her.”
(Was this the first game of the season she’s come to?) – “No, she always comes and I always have the same reaction. A lot of times when it gets very, very intense, she’ll go and use the bathroom because she can’t take the intensity. I just felt that we were winning – we were up – and I wanted to make sure that she was there, so I just kept looking for. It was just a moment that I definitely wanted my mom to see.”
(I love the part when you said “I found her! No, that’s not her.”) – “(laughter) So that was a good story. My cousin, he comes to every game, and I saw him so if I see him, I know my family is right next to him. So I saw him and I remember ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) said something. I looked over, I got a correction and I looked back and I lost him. So I thought I found her but I lost her.”
(There’s another part that caught my ear. “I’m a d-tackle.”) – “Yeah. That’s our certain package. I’m lined up on the line so I’m basically in a 3-technique and just looking at the formation and film study, I knew it was run. I definitely told somebody outside of me that it’s a run. They snapped the ball and I was like ‘oh snap, it actually is run,’ and I was in the tackle. So I talked a little stuff to Le’Veon (Bell). It all worked out.”
(How does that feel? It seems like a different atmosphere coming off a win after so many losses. What does it feel like inside this locker room?) – “Yeah. Monday and Tuesday was definitely relaxed. A lot of energy, a lot of fun. Now we’re back to work. That’s what is unique about this team. The first one was definitely fun but we’re coming in and ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) set the tone of our goal is not just to win one game. The intensity raises up a little bit. Today we definitely got after it.”
(What was your reaction when you saw the video on social media?) – “I was dying laughing. I really forgot (I was mic’d). So I usually know at the beginning of the game I’m mic’d up. So I kind of get all of my whatever out. But once the game starts, you kind of forget you’re all mic’d up. So I’m talking to my teammates just how I talk to them. I said something funny and ‘Kwon’ (Raekwon McMillan) was laughing and I remember I looked over and the guy that has the headphones on and is recording it, he started laughing. So I’m like ‘hold on, hold on, you can hear me?’ And I said it (out loud). He’s like ‘Yeah.’ I was like ‘Aw, snap.’ (laughter) I just kind of forgot that (I was) mic’d up. You just forget about it and just play and have fun with it. When I’m out there, that’s the most fun I have every week so it’s definitely cool.”
(Are they going to mic you up every week now?) – “I hope not.”
(They should.) – “(laughter) You only saw the good stuff.”
(It helped that they blocked out some of the crazy stuff?) – “Oh, yeah. I definitely cuss a lot. Hopefully my mama doesn’t see that part but it’s all good.”
(What do you think of the college football rankings?) – “The Buckeyes are the best in the nation. Is anybody surprised? No. I’m definitely happy for The Ohio State. I’m definitely proud. That’s my mentality.”
(Are you surprised that Clemson is not in there though?) – “No, I’m not surprised. (laughter) Clemson is a great school. They have a great team. The one game I watched, they played UNC. I watched them a little bit. That was a good game but it’s all about the Buckeyes right now, so Go Bucks!”
