Baker, a six-foot, three-inch, 210-pound receiver is one of 10 University of Saskatchewan Huskies named to the 2021 Canada West Universities Athletics Association’s regular season all-star football squad. The fourth year Arts and Science student played in five of six regular season games, making a team leading 26 receptions for a total of 350 yards and four touchdowns.
Baker said his off-season work - extended by the pandemic - has paid off, particularly with his association with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. The 2016 rookie of the year was drafted by the Argos in 2020, leading to a chance to attend the team’s developmental camp heading into the 2021 CFL season. The league decided not to host preseason games this year, but Baker absorbed as much as he could during inter-squad activities.
“Being able to go to the Toronto camp and learn from all those coaches and take all that in was another thing to kind of take me to the next level,” Baker said the day the Can-West all-star team was announced. “Just being out there and going against some of those guys and learning from the receivers and coaches there was all amazing.”
Teammate Noah Zerr, a 330-pound offensive lineman from Langenburg, Sask. who played for the Yorkton Regional High School Raiders, was also named to the all-star team. He is eligible for the Canadian Football League draft this year.
“The COVID year gave me some time off that my body desperately needed,” Zerr said, referring to some nagging injuries that were beginning to get more aggravated. “That year kind of helped me regroup and do what I needed to do to get healthy and play my best football. I ended up losing close to 40 pounds and rehabbing my knees and shoulders … Because football season can kind of be a whirlwind, even with the off-season, it seems like you don’t get any time to really take care of that stuff.”
Zerr was on the front-end protection unit for Can-West’s top offensive squad in 2021, led by fellow all-star and quarterback Mason Nyhus. The Huskies ranked first in overall offence in 2021 with 3632 total yards and an average 461.4 yards per game. They were also first in touchdowns with 29 (tied with the University of Calgary Dinos) and points per game with 32.1.
The seven remaining U. of S. Huskies named to the Can-West all-star team include centre Connor Bergloff, offensive lineman Nick Summach, receiver Colton Klassen, running back Adam Marchart, defensive linemen Nathan Cherry and Riley Picket, and special team’s member David Sole.
After defeating the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the Can-West Championship semi-final, the Huskies knocked off the University Manitoba Bisons 45-17 on Nov. 20 to win the 2021 Hardy Cup at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. The U. of S. then earned a berth to the Canadian U-Sports Championship Vanier Cup with a 14-10 victory over the Montreal Carabins at the Uteck Bowl in Montreal last weekend. They will face the Western University Mustangs in Quebec City, Que. on Saturday to determine the 2021 national university football champion.
Baker said Zerr and his teammates on the offensive and defensive lines will be instrumental to the team’s success through the playoffs.
“The line of scrimmage is a huge part of our game and, offensively, when we win the line of scrimmage, it makes it so much easier for us with the running game, which opens up the pass game and that’s really how we operate,” he said. “The biggest thing is we’ve always got to rely on our big guy up front. They’re what starts us.”
Baker said Canada-West has paid a “hefty nod” to the team’s success by choosing 10 Huskies to the all-star team. This was his first year named to the team, but it’s been a long-time goal, he added.
