The making of a QB
Published 5:06 pm Friday, September 26, 2008
What are the components of a good quarterback?
An accurate, powerful throwing arm? Check. Mental toughness and positive leadership? Yep. Decent height and strength? Certainly.
Watching quarterback Nick Baker, one observes each valuable trait. But arguably the key to the Lake Stevens High School QB’s record-breaking success is nowhere near his arm.
“A huge reason why Nick is able to do what he does is because of his feet,” said Tom Tri, Baker’s head coach.
The past three summers Baker attended the Barton Football Academy, learning and honing skills that helped make him an All-Wesco North Second Team quarterback in 2007. This fall, leading Lake Stevens’ new no-huddle, pass-happy offense, Baker has been even better.
Through three games he has passed for 870 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping the Vikings surge to a 3-0 record.
So where does footwork come in? At Barton camps Baker learned to take precise steps to put himself in the best position to throw. He tirelessly practices drills in which he works on dropping back, stepping into the pocket of space created by his offensive linemen and setting his body to throw.
One helpful trick the quick 6-foot-1, 185-pounder learned is to shift his back foot — not his front foot, which seems more natural — when setting up for a pass. It’s a subtle but effective tweak that speeds up his release, a huge advantage in an offense that relies so much on passing.
After a solid season debut against Mariner, Baker exploded the next week: Against Glacier Peak he completed 32 of 43 passes for 363 yards and four TDs, setting single-game school records for completions and passing yards.
Compared to last season, when Baker led a more ground-focused Lake Stevens attack, this year is completely different — in a good way.
“It’s a lot more fun. I feel like I have the ball in my hands a lot more,” Baker said.
Lake Stevens struggled in its opening quarter of the season. The Vikings didn’t score a point. But since then they have tallied points in 10 of 11 quarters, including a 27-point outburst in the second quarter against Mariner.
The main reason for the success, Baker said, is the time players spent at drills every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer. Another key factor was a camp in Denver. Baker and six of his teammates — including running back Bo Dickinson, and receivers Colton Tupen and Trevor Riecks — soaked up the new offense that coach Tri planned to use. When the players returned home, they quickly shared insights with the rest of the Vikings.
Tri said he isn’t surprised Baker picked everything up so well. The left-handed QB is known as a dedicated leader.
“Nick is the hardest working kid we have,” Tri said of Baker, who was consistently the first player to complete 20-yard sprints at the end of a practice last week. Baker took a break from running, at Tri’s request, to launch high-arcing 55-yard passes to the kickoff return team, simulating kicks with his throwing arm.
With Baker at the helm, Lake Stevens is emerging as a title contender in the always-competitive Western Conference North Division.
“I really think Wesco can be ours as long as we don’t plane out like we did last year,” said Dickinson, referring to his team’s promising 4-0 start in 2007 that disintegrated into a 6-4 record and no playoffs.
If Baker keeps piling up record-breaking statistics, Lake Stevens should be in good shape. But will college recruiters pursue the relatively undersized but productive passer? Coach Tri thinks so.
“If teams don’t recruit him, they’re missing the boat,” Tri said. “He’s going to play for someone.”
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
