Ryan Baker
Ryan Edward Baker is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers.
Early life
Baker started off his career at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he won several awards, including the 2004 Indianapolis Star 'Athlete of the Year'. He was a four-year two-way starter and two-time team captain for the Bishop Chatard Trojans. He led the team to three consecutive Indiana high school football class 3A State Championships in the 2001, 2002, and 2003 seasons. He was runner-up 2003 Mr. Indiana Football behind , of Warren Central High School and participated in the 2004 Indiana All-Star Game. Baker was also a member of the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl East Football team, along with former Dolphins teammates Ted Ginn Jr. and Chad Henne. Baker was the recipient of the 2004 Doc Blanchard Award for excellence in community service, education, and athletic distinction.Baker was also a four-year starter and member of the 2003 Bishop Chatard Indiana high school basketball 3A state championship team along with his childhood friend Dan Cage. At that time, Bishop Chatard was only the second high school in Indiana history to win both a state championship in football and basketball in the same academic year.
College career
Recruitment
During the 2003-2004 college recruiting season, Baker verbally committed to join the University of Notre Dame football program under head coach Tyrone Willingham. The Notre Dame football program publicly announced the commitment though Baker had not submitted his official commitment papers. About seven weeks following the incident, Baker committed to joining the Purdue University football program, under head coach Joe Tiller, by submitting formal commitment papers to Purdue University.Baker, also being an accomplished basketball player, was recruited by Division I basketball programs. He often received scholarship offers from both the Basketball and Football programs of the same university. Though he was a successful multi-sport athlete, Baker chose to focus solely on Football.
Purdue
Baker played college football at Purdue University. He was co-captain along with Curtis Painter, and Jermaine Guynn for the 2008 football season and his position of specialty was defensive tackle. During each home game of the 2008 season, "The Boilermaker" statue bore the number 90 jersey in honor of Baker's indomitable spirit and Boilermaker style of football.Baker graduated from the Purdue University Krannert School of Management with a Bachelor's degree in Management in December 2008.