The Draft: Sam Baker
Five members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team heard their name called in the Canadian Football League draft held on Thursday, April 30th.
Esterhazy native and Warriors Alumni Sam Baker was one of those five drafted; going in round 6 with the 48th pick overall.
U of S Huskies heading to the CFL include Sam Baker to the Toronto Argonauts, Mattland Riley to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Nick Summach to the Edmonton Eskimos, Colton Klassen to the Montreal Alouettes and Nick Dheilly to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Huskies said in a statement, “Despite playing in just five games over the last two years due to injury, receiver Sam Baker made more than enough of an impact in his time on the field to get selected in the sixth round by the Toronto Argonauts. In just three regular season games in 2019 the product of Esterhazy was everywhere, reeling in 15 catches for 236 yards and team-high four touchdowns.”
“He finished the season as one of the best players in the conference, has a ton of potential and Toronto just got a hidden gem,” said Huskies head coach Scott Flory.
The Huskies are a solid football program built on success. Over the past two seasons the club was present at the Hardy Cup which names the Canada West champion in university level football. The 83rd Hardy Cup was held at McMahon Stadium in 2019. Both the Saskatchewan Huskies and Calgary Dinos played tough defence before Calgary pulled away late for a 29-4 victory. The Huskies pulled off a massive 43-18 win over the Calgary program the year before on the same turf.
The X’s and Argo’s podcast analyzed the CFL draft and mentioned the Argos may have been “looking for players who could make an impact immediately”. The podcast said, “he is a nice pick for a sixth-rounder. “He is very tall, very fast and is someone the [Argos] can turn to on 3rd down…He has the size to be an effective special teams player… He’s a well-built athlete who can also long-snap and be a productive special team-er”
Talking about his ability to long snap, Baker said, I’ve never really done it [much until] one coach at the U of S wanted me to do it. Honestly, it was pretty natural, and lately that’s something I’ve focused on with this process.”
Draft Night
Speaking about being drafted by the Argonauts, Sam Baker said, “I talked to Toronto a decent amount throughout the process and it seemed like they liked me a lot. It came to their last pick in the draft and I was kind of hoping for it. I kept refreshing [the draft webpage] and waiting. I saw the Toronto, Ontario location [on my phone] I was instantly excited. I had to wait a bit, get my breath and then I answered a call from [the Argo’s] VP who said they were going to take me with the pick. He said to celebrate with my family. Five minutes later they sent me a Zoom call link and I went into a video chat with their coaches who congratulated me as well. It was a cool experience. After that it was non-stop notifications and congratulations, all night the phone was going off. It was a pretty surreal moment.”
Sam was able to spend the occasion with his parents who came up to Saskatoon to watch the draft. “My mom brought some champagne just in case. So we celebrated for a couple of hours after. I couldn’t get any sleep [that night]. It was a lot to take in, that’s for sure.”
Sam’s parents, Marie and Chad Baker, talked about the event, “ It was crazy. We knew that throughout his career we’ve been there for everything and I said to my husband, how can we not be there? Either to support him if it doesn’t happen or to cheer him on if it does. You start to feel heavy as the [draft] picks go by, then all of a sudden it happens. We lost Sam to his phone as it dinged non-stop. Time just stopped. He did it! He set his mind on it many years ago and it was happening.”
Marie spoke about Sam’s younger years playing football, “In grade five, Mr. Leidl did a Spring camp for kids to come out and put on equipment. They looked like bobble-heads, just to run around and get them interested. In grade seven he could play [for the junior program]. The first practice was an hour and a half of the kids getting dressed. By grade nine, Sam was able to play up with the seniors. Mr. Leidl said he could come on the bus which was awesome. He knew he was good enough to play with the older kids and hold his own out there. He was hooked.”
“He’s worked very hard. We’re super proud. His passion for the game and resilience to get healthy and move past obstacles is inspiring. Since he’s been born, I still can’t catch him. That kid was on fire his whole life. Whatever he does [we knew] he would be great. After his first broken collarbone, he broke it again. I said, ‘there is a silver lining somewhere, you just have to keep working hard’. For him to attain it, we are super proud.”
Regarding Sam’s football career to this point, Marie said, “It’s taken us places we never thought we would be.”
Giving Back and Looking Ahead
Sam Baker is focused on his future, but he has a habit of coming back to the field at Esterhazy High School to help up-and-coming athletes whenever the opportunity is there. An example of this is when he helped the Warriors with the combine held last fall. Sam had been training for these events and knew the technical teachings that high-caliber players are taught. His words were meaningful and inspiring to the young athletes who hope to walk a similar path to a pro football opportunity.
The knack for inspiring other athletes is not new to Sam. Former Warriors teammate, Jarred Groeneveld commented, “I played four or five years with Sam. In his grade twelve year, my grade eleven year, he was the star of the offense. We had a joke that our goal was to give the ball to Sam and see what he did with it. We would get it to him in a bunch of different ways and he would make something happen.”
Groeneveld continued, “The attitude that he brought to practice fired everyone else up as well. He was always serious about what was going on, sticking to practice and making sure everyone was doing their part. I think that had a big impact on everybody on the team.”
Jarred was the quarterback who threw to Sam. “There were plays where he would be running a post route and there was never any question whether I should throw the ball there or not. I knew I could always throw it there as I knew he would be the one who would come down with it. I always knew it would come down in his hands.”
Messages from the Community
Errol Brown knows, first-hand, the story of a Warriors football player making it to the professional level. The third-round, 17th overall, draft pick of the 1993 CFL draft also played with the Huskies at the university level. The defensive back was selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and also played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
“Congratulations! I wish Sam nothing but the best.” He recommended, “Make as many connections as you can because life after football is not guaranteed. I hope he has a great career and wish him the best.”
Reg Leidl was Errol’s grade six teacher and mentioned the area has a history of success sending players to junior and university level football.
Mr. Leidl coached Sam Baker and has a keen memory of both he and Brown. He said, “Sam excelled in high school football. Sam was dominant against whoever we played. He’s very driven, his goal was always to play at a higher level and he’s been successful doing that. He’s a competitor.”
Opposing coaches realized very early on that he was going to be good. Baker attended many camps and all star games so he was known by many coaches around the area. John Svenson coached against Sam with the team from Melville Comprehensive. Svenson said on Twitter, “Personally, I’ve had the chance to coach against Sam over the years while with the [Melville Comprehensive School Football program], and he was always a handful for an opposition.”
Tyler Metz, Warriors head coach, had the opportunity to work with Sam in his final year of high school. He praised Baker saying, “The thing about Sam was he has a lot of natural talent and it was obvious from early on, besides the talent and physical ability, he understood he had to put in work, be coachable and have a good attitude; he was all those things. As a high school coach it was very rewarding to coach him because he understood all that. There was no ego behind his talent, it was pure work ethic and understanding. At the end of the day, we as coaches talked a lot about ‘this kid gets it, he knew what it took to be successful. Whether it was at that level, the next level, or the CFL level. I always appreciated what he put into his positions for our team.”
Speaking about Sam as a person, Metz said, “Sam is very humble and very willing to give back and he understood why. He knew those types of things were important, even when he played. He still comes back every year and helps at spring camp, fall camp and whenever he can; he understands what ‘team’ means. The entire Warrior organization is excited to have a Warrior Alumni being drafted to the CFL and see his work pay off.
He continued, “It’s so good for him, for the communities and for the young players coming up. This is about Sam, but I’m excited to see the excitement on the pee-wee, junior and senior players. To see this happen is a pretty big deal.”
Remembering Sam’s younger playing years, Tyler said, “I remember his junior years vividly [as] I used to coach junior as well. He always had that half-grin and put everything he had into things. I remember his successes and his struggles here and there; he understood what it took, that he had to keep working hard. He understood what it took. There was no ego, never. He was all about working hard and making things happen…In Junior, he played both ways. In Senior, he was an offensive player but played both ways when we needed him to. He was one to play wherever we asked him. He made a lot of plays and did what it took to be successful.”
Warriors coach, Aaron Polvi, also remembers Baker from his early days. He said, “I can’t remember exactly when Sam started playing football with us but I do remember the opposing coaches talking about him in grade 8 or 9 when his speed was faster than most junior defences could handle. We would call a jet sweep type play and Sam would outrun all the players to the wide side of the field and then turn it up into the end zone. Defences would widen out to prevent him from running outside and he would cut it up early and was too quick for them to get back gaining more yards. In his grade 11 year I remember the refs starting to get excited to ref games with Sam playing and would mention his talent after the games. Sam is not the only player I have coached where the opposing coaches or refs talk about, he just continually put the extra work in to be better than the day before, I’m sure his parents at times would wish he would have put in half of that effort into his school work however football was always Sam’s goal.”
Polvi continued, “I remember telling Sam either when he was signed to the huskies or after his first University year that I would buy a jersey and get him to sign it when he made it to the CFL, at the time I didn’t believe it would happen as much as Sam did.”
Sam wanted to shout out a bit thank you to everyone in Esterhazy with the football program and all those coaches through his entire high school career. He wanted to thank his Huskies coaches, family and friends, saying he “appreciates all the support.”
Sam Baker believed he would make the CFL and he is there. Now that he is in Toronto, he will have to familiarize himself with the area. Baker mentioned he is not familiar with the area, but is looking forward to seeing it and the coaching staff. “We went to McMaster a couple of years ago for a pre-season game so we flew to Toronto and drove from there to Hamilton. I’ve been there but haven’t actually stayed there. I’m excited to get there. I’m a big Raptors fan and would like to get out to some Jays games while I’m there.”
Sam said he’s thankful for the opportunity to attend the East-West Bowl last year (an all-star game) where he played against a couple of guys who were Toronto draft picks. Recent Argo’s draft players Baker, Deon Pellerin and Sam Acheampong reached out to each other and established a connection going into camp.
Years ago, he met Argos legend Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons. Baker said, “He did a speech in Yorkton years ago. I actually have a picture with Pinball Clemons from [the event].”
Another Former Warrior Alumni Experiences CFL
Errol Brown was born in Wolverhampton, England then spent some time in Jamaica before moving to Canada. He lived in Esterhazy for eight years before heading to Saskatoon to play with the Huskies.
Coincidentally, both athletes relied on submitting video footage to CFL teams prior to the draft, versus the traditional combine which gathers top prospects and scouts together.
Errol and his brother, who he admits did most of the leg-work, made a video of his college football years which they sent to the teams and Saskatchean ended up calling. They had combines as well in those years but they were not as prioritized.
This year the combines were cancelled as well so both drafted athletes know the hardships of impressing coaches when they cannot be physically present.
Speaking about making his combine video, Sam Baker said, “Our strength and conditioning coach put it on for us. We weren’t able to go to the combine and he let us use the facility the day before everything closed down. We ended up shooting video with a videographer and assistant coaches doing editing and adding the numbers on there which turned out well. That was definitely helpful to the process as well.”
Ken Johnson and Jim Sekulich coached Errol Brown during his time with the Warriors Football program. He was drafted by the Roughriders in 1993 after completing his fourth year of football with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
“Initially I was not going to play football in my grade twelve year. It turns out, the people I was living with, the guy was the coach of the football team…He convinced me to come out to the football team and it worked out really well…My first-love was actually basketball but my initial drive was going to be track and field. I fell back into football.”
Talking about how he ended up at the U of S, “I was recruited by a few teams in the States. The team I decided on was University of Pacific in Stockton, California. Two weeks before my recruitment trip, someone walked into a [fast food restaurant] and shot 17 people. My parents decided it was better for me to stay in Canada.”
Brown ended up coaching at the University of Manitoba for a couple of seasons. The schedule was difficult with work and organizing shifts. He was asked to be a guest coach at Bomber camp after he recently got on the police service, but schedules conflicted.
Keep Your Eye On
Noah Zerr of Langenburg is another talented football player from the area, residing from Langenburg. He plays for the Huskies as an O-Lineman. Noah, along with four of his teammates, was selected to represent the Huskie football program at the 2020 East-West Bowl which was cancelled.
Argo’s receiver, Sam Baker said, “He was supposed to go to the All-star game this year but it was cancelled; that’s all the pre-draft guys they look at. He’s definitely a prospect for the next year too. Noah’s a good guy and he’s a good buddy. We played together before high school, before he went to Yorkton.”
When football gears back up, local talent will continue to flourish. Athletes like Baker, Brown and Zerr give inspiration to our communities as we take the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments.