Notre Dame has scored a monster victory on the recruiting trail.
Four-star Pinnacle (Ariz.) offensive lineman Tosh Baker gave the Fighting Irish a verbal pledge on Wednesday. He picked Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and several other major programs.
For Baker, the decision to side with Notre Dame was an easy one.
“Notre Dame is a great school,” Baker said. “The tradition is huge. I love the offensive line culture they have. I visited twice, and hung out with the offensive line twice. They are all great people. I have a strong connection to both the players and the coaches.”
Baker made two unofficial visits to Notre Dame, and the Irish started to surge in his recruitment this spring. Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn spent the entire day evaluating Baker at Pinnacle on Monday, and he closed the deal soon after.
Quinn coached former first round Joe Staley at Central Michigan, NFL all-pro Jason Kelce during his years at Cincinnati, and he was at Notre Dame from 2015 to 2017 before taking over the offensive line job. During that time Quenton Nelson earned unanimous All-American honors and both Ronnie Stanley and Mike McGlinchey earned consensus All-American honors. That background from Quinn is why Baker believes he can truly develop under his guidance.
“The relationship I have with Coach Quinn is very strong,” the Rivals100 tackle stated. “He’s a father and a football coach, and he brings both to the football field. That’s huge. He’s a great coach, and I feel like I could learn a lot from him. He’s done a lot of great things with the offensive linemen at Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame got an extra boost in this recruitment from commit Drew Pyne. The two have a close friendship and could be a dynamic quarterback-left tackle duo in South Bend in the near future.
“I talk to Drew Pyne all the time,” Baker said. “I spent some time with him on my visit. He’s a great dude and a great athlete. He’s an even better person. He’s just a solid person.”
Now that he is a part of the Notre Dame family, Baker is excited to see what the future holds, especially in the trenches.
“I know there are some new defensive line commits, and that’s going to make the offensive line even better,” explained the Pinnacle standout. “Getting after it in practice is going to make the games even easier.”
Baker is the tenth member of Notre Dame’s nationally ranked recruiting class. He is the first offensive lineman to give the Irish a verbal pledge this cycle.
At 6-foot-8, 275 pounds, Baker is ranked as the No. 9 offensive tackle and No. 51 overall prospect in the country, per Rivals.com.
Should his ranking hold, Baker would become the highest ranked offensive lineman to choose Notre Dame since Tommy Kraemer (No. 41) in the 2016 class. Former five-star recruit Quenton Nelson (No. 29) from the 2014 class would be the only other offensive tackle to rank higher than Baker.
He is the third Rivals100 offensive player to commit to the Irish, joining Pyne and St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet star receiver Jordan Johnson. Notre Dame now has five offensive players committed in the 2020 class, and all five rank in the Rivals250, including tight ends Kevin Bauman and Michael Mayer.
To read BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell's full breakdown of Baker read his FILM ROOM.
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