Why Tosh Baker never left Notre Dame football with starting spots taken
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The last time Tosh Baker made consecutive starts for Notre Dame football, eventual All-America left tackle and projected first-round NFL Draft pick Joe Alt had yet to start a college football game.
Baker, then a redshirt freshman, made his first two career starts at left tackle in the third and fourth games of Notre Dame’s 2021 season. A concussion in practice the following week kept Baker sidelined, opened the door for Michael Carmody to reclaim a starting spot and then Alt eventually jumped ahead of both of them to make his starting debut in the sixth game of the season against Virginia Tech.
As Alt took the next step in his NFL audition with Thursday’s Pro Day on Notre Dame’s campus, Baker was working to make sure he can start two consecutive games once again by sticking in the lineup for the 2024 season opener at Texas A&M on Aug. 31. The 6-foot-8, 321-pound Baker started the season-ending Sun Bowl in December after Alt and right tackle Blake Fisher opted out of the game. It was his first true start — he technically started the Ohio State game as a tight end/extra tackle — since those games in 2021.
“That was awesome for me,” Baker said Wednesday. “Great to be out there with the guys and just playing my heart out.”
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Baker, who was Alt’s primary backup during the season, manned the right tackle position in the Sun Bowl with the emergence of true freshman Charles Jagusah making his first career start at left tackle. Both remain in those positions this spring with the opportunity to hold onto the starting roles come August.
“For me, the bowl game was great because I was able to see what I needed to improve on, especially going into this offseason,” Baker said. “I was able dial up things, shore up the things I needed to improve on and in spring ball, I can do the same thing.”
Pro Football Focus didn’t love Baker’s performance. His offensive grade of 55.9 against Oregon State was second lowest on ND’s starting line ahead of Jagusah’s 49.0. For comparison, Alt’s season-long grade was 90.7, the nation’s best among starting offensive linemen, and Fisher’s was 71.1.
But Baker has rewatched that game far more than Pro Football Focus, so he’s plenty aware of what he did or didn’t do well in the game.
“I’ve watched that game so many times,” Baker said. “I could probably tell you everything that is going to happen before it happens. I think that’s the beauty of it. Having that be the last game that I could go into a longer break of not putting the pads back on. I’ve been able to study it repeatedly until I couldn’t even look at it anymore.”
How Baker builds upon that reintroduction to the starting lineup will define what happens for him this fall. Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph sees all the tools and abilities necessary in Baker’s game for him to be a successful offensive tackle. But he has to maximize those traits with consistency, confidence and a little more strength.
“He’s got the mindset you want,” Rudolph said. ‘I’m really excited where he is right now. I’m excited about how he prepped for the bowl to the way he attacked the weight room to where we are now. It’s been positive.”
Baker could have responded negatively to being stuck on the bench for nearly the entirety of the past two seasons. The former four-star recruit out of Phoenix Pinnacle came to Notre Dame with a lot of promise. Rivals ranked him as the No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 137 overall in the 2020 class.
Meanwhile, Alt and Fisher were showing that star ratings can be misleading. Alt, as a three-star recruit, far exceeded external expectations for his college career. Fisher, a five-star recruit, like won’t reach the first-round draft projections that were once associated with his potential.
Baker admitted that the idea of transferring crossed his mind in the last two years, but he was never close to leaving.
“What kept me here is two things: the guys in the O-line room and being able to learn from Joe and Blake,” Baker said. “A lot of guys in my position would have left and hit the road. I love Notre Dame, the guys in the room and I love our coaching staff.
"I knew I was going to be able to grow to my full potential here and that’s why I stayed. I learned so much from Joe and Blake. I was able to bounce ideas off each other. When I needed to improve on certain things, I’d go to them and I’d ask for tips and stuff.
“They’re here [Wednesday] and I was still able to bounce ideas off them today, which is so great they came back. They love this place. I love this place, and that’s what makes Notre Dame special.”
Baker would like to be able to mimic Alt and Fisher in different ways. He admired Alt’s ability to see the game and the preparation that went into it. He’d like to be able to show quick twitch off the ball and use power in movement like Fisher.
Rudolph has noticed that Baker will give up too much ground when he’s playing cautiously. It’s up to Baker to eradicate that from his game as much as possible. And it will take a lot of work to make that happen.
But considering how long Baker has waited for this opportunity, it would only make sense that he did everything in his power to find success.
“I didn’t always love the journey,” Baker said. “Sometimes you want to be focused on the end result. As you grow up, you gotta love the process. That’s what it’s all about.”
The bond with his fellow offensive linemen has made the journey more enjoyable for Baker. He’s currently roommates with center Ashton Craig, guard Billy Schrauth and tackles Aamil Wagner and Ty Chan. He’s the old man of that group. Which should be a good reminder of how far he’s come since 2021.
“I’ve gained a lot more maturity since then,” Baker said. “That was my redshirt freshman year. Now, I’m going into my fifth year, so I’ve gained a lot more maturity.
“I know a lot more ball than I did then, and I can see defenses way better than I did back then. I feel more comfortable in my body, pass sets and run blocking. Everything just feels better.”
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