LSU Athletics
The quotes in this story are from Blake Baker’s Thursday morning interview with Jacob Hester and Matt Flynn Off the Bench on 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge. Watch the full interview here.
By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s new machine is up and running.
The Tigers have hauled in the nation’s top portal class with Head Coach Lane Kiffin and General Manager Billy Glasscock piloting the ship. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker didn’t have quite as much to do to rebuild his side of the ball with the continuity on the defensive staff and some key returners, but his defense looks better on paper today than it did on January 2.
Money matters in the transfer portal, and LSU was prepared to pay up. That’s not Baker’s role, though. In fact, he prefers to stay completely out of those negotiations when meeting with prospects.
“We really just talk football,” Baker said. “We rely on the front office with Billy Glasscock and his staff to talk about the money. I don’t really want to know how much they’re making, because I don’t want that to have an influence on who I play.”
College football has become the professional ranks. Six and seven figure deals are common. Power programs have departments in charge of moving money and allocating it properly to build a roster.
Baker understands the influence that can have on the field and wants to avoid it completely, if possible.
“Just like in the NFL,” Baker said. “That happens a lot. The guy that got drafted in the first round is gonna get a lot more opportunities than the guy that got drafted in the seventh round. So, if we can avoid that as coaches and take that out of the equation, we’re going to make sure that we play the best players.”
As the Tigers continue to add to the roster, the key pieces to the defense essentially remained.
The cornerback duo of DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland is back. So are third year linemen Gabriel Reliford and Dominick McKinley. Tamarcus Cooley returns alongside Dashawn Spears who considered the portal and opted to stay put.
Every linebacker with eligibility remaining rejoins Baker’s group, and that includes defensive captain Whit Weeks.
The retention job Baker did was outstanding.
“Kind of a rule of thumb I tell guys is, if they’re talking about doubling your money, that’s probably something that you really need to listen to,” Baker said. “If not, man, you’ve got to look at the best situation from a development standpoint and just growing as a football player and as a man. Every time you get up and leave, you’re having to learn a new system, learn new teammates, learn a bunch of new stuff. So, like it or not, no matter who you are, it’s going to set you back in some ways.”
Even, with that much coming back on defense, additions had to be made. The process begins with Kiffin and Glasscock and feeds down to Baker and the other assistant coaches.
But the players are vital in the recruiting effort as well. Once LSU recruited Weeks back, he went to work.
“Y’all probably saw, (Weeks is) out to dinner with quarterbacks and people on the other side of the ball,” Baker said. “It’s because he wants what’s best for LSU.”
Weeks was reported to be at dinner with Sam Leavitt who committed to play quarterback for the Tigers. Both were seen at the basketball game last weekend.
He’s the closer.
“Absolutely because he’s so genuine,” Baker said of Weeks. “I think players respect that…. It’s recruiting 101, be yourself. He’s a great ambassador of LSU football. He’s probably our ace up our sleeve when it comes to closing guys.”
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