Dallas Baker’s Infectious Energy Setting the Tone for Baylor’s New-Look WR Room

One of the things that Baylor wide receivers coach Dallas Baker is best known for is bringing the energy. The 43-year-old proudly wears his emotions on his sleeve and is often seen jumping around on the sideline.

“That doesn’t come from anybody that walked the face of the earth — it comes from God,” Baker told the media in Saturday’s press conference. “I’m jumping up because I know I’m blessed.”

Baker later continued, “I’m praising the Lord. I don’t care if people think I’m crazy. I don’t care if people think I’m drunk. I don’t care if people think I’m trying to be cool. I’m not doing it for them. That impacts the players because it’s like, ‘Look at Coach Bake. I need to have that type of energy.’ But it also allows me to tell them about God because they’re like, ‘Coach Bake, you still think you’re young?’ They’re lying because when I’m done with practice, my knees feel like I’ve just played in six games back-to-back. Here’s why I’m jumping up and down, and then they’re asking more questions about God, so that’s why I do it, to be honest.”

Baker’s infectious and endless energy, however, is matched by the intensity and attention to detail with which he coaches. For his wide receivers, he has four principles he’s constantly working on with his group: fundamentals and technique, toughness, selflessness and playmaking. 

“That’s what we focus on, and that doesn’t just mean with the ball in our hands,” Baker said. “If this guy sets a block and the other receiver breaks on the screen and goes 80 yards for a touchdown, I’m running to the guy who set the block first. Because now the guys in the room see that Coach Bake ran to that guy first, so he means everything he’s talking about.”

Part of the responsibility that comes with being a wide receivers coach is managing personalities. Keeping everyone content when there’s only one football can be quite the challenge, but Baker’s no stranger to it, as he’s played with some incredible players during his time at Florida, such as Andre Caldwell, Percy Harvin and Riley Cooper.

“I played receiver,” Baker said with a big grin. “With that being said, I know how to deal with personalities because I was in the room with them. … I watched all my coaches deal with personalities. Now, I’m able to do the same thing. I was them. Everybody sees now, but they don’t know about the process. Me slapping a guy because I’m mad I didn’t have enough catches. I thank the good Lord for allowing me to play this game and now to coach it. That’s something easy for me to deal with.”

That ability to manage different personalities could prove particularly valuable this fall, with Baylor piecing together a new-look wide receiver room featuring a mix of veterans, transfers and younger players.

When asked about the dynamic of this year’s wide receiver unit, fifth-year senior Louis Brown IV said, “I feel like we have a group that can set the tempo and start fast. With the guys that we’ve got, it’s a very versatile room. We can be a very explosive offense and make big-time plays down the stretch with the receivers that we have.”

Rather infamously, toward the end of fall camp a year ago, head coach Dave Aranda said in no uncertain terms that Brown IV was “one of the top guys, if not the [top guy]” in a room that featured Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice.

After transferring from Colorado State last summer, Brown IV didn’t have enough time to get fully up to speed and ended up redshirting after hauling in just six passes for 79 yards. With a full offseason under his belt, however, Brown IV is finally ready to burst onto the scene.

“I’ve been studying more in the film room, connecting more with Coach Spav, our offensive coordinator, more connection with DJ, spending time with him, getting a relationship with him and just bonding with my guys in the room,” Brown IV said. “I’m just taking in as much as I can. The things that I didn't learn last year, I had way more time to learn this year, whether it's working on my craft, studying the playbook more, and just watching film more day in, day out.”

With Baylor’s top pass-catchers from a season ago all headed to the NFL, Brown IV is going to be leaned on heavily to be the top target in the group. He’s also become the elder statesman in the room and is trying to pass along what he learned last year to all the new faces.

“All the extra work that the guys put in,” Brown IV said of what stood out about last year’s group. “When everything is done on the field, coming back and taking care of your body, meeting more with your coach and all of the small stuff and details. I learned from Josh Cameron, Kole Wilson, Kobe Prentice and all those guys; Michael Trigg taught me a lot as well. I just took as much and soaked up as much as I can. I'm trying to instill that in the younger guys in the room, as well as staying on top of my game and doing what I have to do to help our offense.”

Elsewhere in the wide receiver room is Oklahoma State transfer Gavin Freeman, who’s expected to be Baylor’s starting slot receiver this fall. The 5-foot-9, 181-pounder had a productive season with the Cowboys last year, catching 53 passes for 481 yards, despite suboptimal quarterback play.

Freeman credits Baker as a big reason for making his transition to Baylor so easy, saying, “He’s had a really good impact. He's probably one of the most hands-on coaches I've [played for]. He keeps my head on straight. He keeps all the receivers' heads on straight. He's been really good, and I appreciate it because we need it. We're young, and just having someone that's been able to play in college, have success in college, have success in the league — that's a big thing for us.”

Baker has had a similar influence on junior wideout Dre’lon Miller, who battled through some injuries and missed a good portion of spring practices after transferring from Colorado.

“He helped me through that process a lot, just letting me know that he believes in me,” Miller said of Baker. “He's not giving up on me, even though I got hurt. He's still going to coach me the same. To hear that from him meant a lot to me. He let me know that he trusted me and he needed me. I was doing everything to get back on that field.”

Miller was the prized addition this offseason, after totaling 579 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns across two years with the Buffs. While sidelined during spring practices, Miller used the extra time to get a better grasp of offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s wide-ranging playbook.

“It was hard, but I learned a lot,” Miller said. “It's a lot of rules to be in this offense. It's a big old air-raid offense, but you got a lot of technique rules, and when you're in this formation, run this route. It was difficult for sure, but just looking at the playbook, you get it down.”

One of the biggest questions facing the wide receiver group is how well it has meshed with Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway. Since arriving in Waco, Lagway has made a concerted effort to build chemistry with his pass-catchers, including taking the group on a spring break trip to Miami.

Brown IV noted that Lagway’s grown as a vocal leader, saying, “When he first came in, I think he was getting the feel for it. But once things got to rolling and this thing became a brotherhood, guys started bonding more. It just became easy for him to communicate, lead by example and lead our offense. Plus, he could tell the guys where he wanted them to be and what he wanted, and just see things from his point of view. It’s grown on him with his confidence and has gotten better and better.”

While the receivers look to continue to develop a rapport with Lagway, Baker believes his new-look group, anchored by Brown IV, Freeman and Miller, has what it takes to be a strength for the Bears this fall.