Ryan Edward Baker (born November 25, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was originally signed by the Dolphins as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Early years

Baker started off his career at

Bishop Chatard High School Bishop Chatard High School is a Catholic co-educational preparatory high school located in the Broad Ripple district of Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. It is named after Bishop Silas Chatard, who was the first Bishop A bishop is an ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

where he won several awards, including the 2004

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

'Athlete of the Year'. He was a four-year two-way starter and two-time team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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 behin
Desmond Tardy
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 Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman starti ...

. Baker was the recipient of the 2004

Doc Blanchard Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (December 11, 1924 – April 19, 2009) was an American football player and serviceman who became the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, and was the first football player to win the James E. S ...

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 Lionel Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2 ...

. 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 Joseph Henry Tiller (December 7, 1942 – September 30, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1991 to 1996 and Purdue University from 1997 to 2008, with a career record of know ...

, by submitting formal commitment papers to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. Baker, also being an accomplished

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, was recruited by Division I basketball programs. He often received

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

offers from both the

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

programs of the same

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Though he was a successful multi-sport athlete, Baker chose to focus solely on Football.

Purdue

Baker played

(2004–2008). He was co-

along with

Curtis Painter Curtis Jeffrey Painter (born June 24, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. High school caree ...

, and Jermaine Guynn for the 2008 football season and his position of specialty was

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. During each home game of the 2008 season, "

The Boilermaker The Boilermaker is a statue that was dedicated on November 4, 2005, as a monument commemorating the "indomitable spirit of the urdueboilermaker." The statue is located adjacent to Ross Ade Stadium on the Purdue University-West Lafayette campus ...

" statue bore the number 90 jersey in honor of Baker's indomitable spirit and

Boilermaker A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

style of football. Baker graduated from the

Krannert School of Management The Krannert School of Management is the school of management at Purdue University, a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana. It offers instruction at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. History The School of Ind ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in December 2008.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

2009

After going undrafted in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, Baker signed with the

as an

on April 30, 2009. He was waived by the Dolphins during final cuts on September 5 and subsequently re-signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. Baker made his professional debut against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Ralph Wilson Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was kn ...

on November 29, 2009, after being signed to the active roster the previous day, recording a

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

his second

play from scrimmage A play from scrimmage is the sequence in the game of gridiron football during which one team tries to advance the ball, get a first Down (gridiron football), down, or score, and the other team tries to stop them or take the ball away. Once a play ...

2010

Baker was waived during final cuts on September 4, 2010 and re-signed to the Dolphins' practice squad. He was soon reinstated to the active roster on September 18 after the team waived

Rob Rose.

2011

Baker was released from the team during week four of the season, on September 28, 2011, to make room for running back

Steve Slaton Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is a former American football running back. He played college football for West Virginia University, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was chosen by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 200 ...

. Baker was resigned to the team on November 30, 2011 and Igor Olshansky was subsequently released.

2012

On March 20, 2012 Baker was re-signed to a one-year contract. On August 31, 2012, he was released from the team during final cuts and later re-signed to the team during the second week of the season on September 12, 2012 in order to serve in a reserve role in place of the injured

Tony McDaniel Anthony Dewayne McDaniel (born January 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. McDaniel was signed ...

. Baker was again released from the reserve role during the third week of the season on September 18, 2012 and the team subsequently signed former

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

defensive lineman

Andre Fluellen Andre Fluellen (born March 7, 1985) is an American football former defensive tackle. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. High school career A native of Carter ...

Oakland Raiders

2013

Baker signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

on August 5, 2013. Baker was released on the Raiders' final cut day.

Personal life

The Ryan Baker Foundation

During the summer, The Ryan Baker Foundation hosts the annua
Ryan Baker Football Camp
for youth football players in the

area.Chatard grad Baker comes back, gives back
/ref>

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioNews and Info Feed for Ryan BakerThe Ryan Baker Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Ryan 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Indianapolis American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Purdue Boilermakers football players Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players