Tosh Baker Is Confident His Time Is Coming On The Notre Dame Offensive Line

Tosh Baker Is Confident His Time Is Coming On The Notre Dame Offensive Line

Notre dame offensive lineman Tosh Baker / Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown

Maybe Tosh Baker’s time has finally arrived. The veteran Notre Dame offensive lineman has played in 37 games in his first four years with the Fighting Irish and he has even made four career starts, but the majority of that experience has been on special teams units.

After playing in two games as a true freshman in 2020, Baker made back-to-back starts at left tackle in 2021 against Purdue and Wisconsin before a concussion kept him out of Notre Dame’s next game against Cincinnati and it took him two-plus years before his next two starts came last season against Ohio State and in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State.

"I’ve gained a lot more maturity since (2021),” Baker said during the spring. "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.”

Baker has had a hard time finding opportunities since that 2021 season due to the presence of Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, who started 33 and 26 consecutive games, respectively. 

In the transfer portal era, Baker could have looked for a quicker path to the starting lineup over the last two years but he opted instead to stay at Notre Dame.

"What kept me here is two things,” Baker explained. "The guys in the o-line room and being able to learn from Joe and Blake. 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 know 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 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.”

When Fisher opted out of the Sun Bowl, it opened the door back up for Baker to start at right tackle. The 6-8, 321-pound veteran has dialed up that game several times in the last four-plus ensuing months.

"I’ve watched that game so many times,” Baker remarked. "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.

Baker handled himself well, but he knows there is work to be done.

"A lot of footwork stuff,” Baker said of his top takeaway from critiquing himself in that game. "That’s kind of been my thing in the run. I want to shore up some of my footwork. I could talk for an hour about the things I need to improve on. The fundamentals and basics never change, which is the beauty of it. You can keep fine-tuning little things of body movement, body mechanics, footwork, hand placement, eye placement, eye progression, and all that stuff to shore up my ability as a tackle.”

Baker and junior Aamil Wagner were the top two competitors for the right tackle starting job this spring, but they exited the offseason practices as one of the top question marks on the Fighting Irish offense. He left the spring confident in his ability to take hold of the job once fall training camp opens in preparation for the 2024 season.

"I’d say I’m a confident person for sure, but with that confidence comes the consistency of improving your technique, consistently executing your job,” Baker explained. "That’s when you match that consistency is when the excellence comes along. I’d say I’m confident and I’m working towards the consistency piece. From there, it will become the excellence part.

"For me, it’s all been about improving on what I need to improve on,” Baker continued. “That’s sharpening up technique stuff, improving fundamentals, working better with teammates and kind of gelling together with who is on the line. That’s what spring is for - kind of getting everything all together, especially with a new offensive coordinator and learning a new offense, which is great. I love the new offense. We’re just kind of growing as a team.”

Notre Dame has a chance to have a strong offensive line in 2024, but the right tackle spot being solidified is a key to making that happen.

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