Rochester High School graduate Nic Baker (8) has rewritten the Southern Illinois football record book during his time in Carbondale. (Photo by DailyEgyptian.com)
By Dan Verdun
Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill threw 557 passes in his Saluki playing career. He’s probably been asked just as many questions about Nic Baker.
After all, the pair have spent the better part of the last six years together. They’ve been through the good times and the bad. They’ve been through the isolated, dark days of COVID and the sunny rays of fall afternoons.
There have been shouts of joy and no doubt harsh words along the way. It’s always this way when a closely-linked duo share a common drive to get better each day in pursuit of lofty goals.
There were hugs and tears both before and after Saturday’s last regular-season game at Saluki Stadium.
Baker fought to put aside the emotion of the day and instead focus on the not-so-easy task of quarterbacking his team. So, it’s certainly understandable that a million thoughts raced through his mind as he exited the tunnel onto the field.
“I don’t know (what all I was thinking),” Baker said in Saturday’s postgame media address. “All the ups and downs. You think about all that stuff. It’s a tough game, but it’s a fun game. You get a lot of people close (together). That’s just all I was thinking about.”
Senior Day continued . . .
Though it was dubbed “Senior Day,” neither wanted it to be a final act. Thankfully for both, it didn’t turn out that way.
SIU, led in part by Baker’s play, throttled Indiana State, 38-9. The win boosted the Salukis to 7-4 overall and evened their record to 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The league garnered an FCS-best six teams chosen for the 24-team playoff bracket with SIU landing one of the 14 at-large bids.
Southern Illinois will host Nicholls, the Louisiana-based school that won the Southland Conference title, at 2 p.m. Saturday in first-round action.
Hill surely knows about playoff football. He’s been there both as a player and as a coach.
Like Baker, Hill was the starting quarterback of playoff-bound Saluki teams. In fact, Hill — who grew up in nearby Du Quoin — led SIU to consecutive playoff appearances in 2006 and 2007, the latter resulting in a national semifinal showdown with future NFL QB Joe Flacco and his Delaware Blue Hens.
Hill took over as his alma mater’s head coach in 2016. He’s built the Salukis into a perennial playoff contender. SIU has qualified for the FCS postseason in three of the last four seasons.
Baker is a big reason why.
After leading downstate Rochester High School to consecutive state championships, the undersized Baker — listed at perhaps a generous 5-foot-9 by SIU — had no Division I suitors.
Enter Hill and the Salukis.
“I can remember the day when we went up there (to Rochester) and we offered him a scholarship and what it was like on his official visit,” Hill said. “He’s always been kind of counted out. We were his only offer.”
Both parties have undoubtedly delivered on their commitments. The two have grown together in numerous, often immeasurable ways.
And there are measurable ones as well. Baker has rewritten the SIU record book, rising to the top of multiple passing categories — some of which were once held by Hill himself.
“To come here and leave the program as the all-time leading passer. He tied Joel (Sambursky’s) record for (career) touchdown passes today, that was really the only one left. It’s a pretty (solid) resume to probably have his picture out there at some point with the rest of those guys,” Hill said nodding toward commemorative banners of SIU all-time greats hung around Saluki Stadium.
Pondering a legacy
Hill was asked to summarize Baker’s career, which proved to be no straightforward assignment.
“The thing you never question with Nic is his heart,” Hill said. “He’s got a big heart, and he’s got a competitiveness that is hard to install in someone.
“He hasn’t always played perfect, and he’s always the first one to (be hard on himself). He’s never made an excuse the whole time that we’ve coached him. If he makes a bad decision, if he doesn’t make a throw, he puts it on himself.”
Win or lose against Nicholls, Saturday will mark the final time Baker will play at Saluki Stadium. The game’s winner will advance and travel to No. 4 seed Idaho for a second-round matchup.
Though he isn’t ready for football to end and to put his finance degree to work, Baker was asked about his SIU legacy. How would he like to be remembered by the Saluki community?
“I hope I’m remembered as tough. I was just tough and resilient and never quit. And (that) other people liked to play with me,” Baker said, throwing up his hands while searching his thoughts for more words.
After briefly choking up, Baker added, “This week it hits you. This week could be . . . It just hits you a little bit different.”
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
Find us on social media!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment