MOBILE, Ala. – Whenever the term diva is used in a conversation about football, more often than not the first reference will be to a wide receiver.
Terrell Owens. Randy Moss. Chad Ochocinco. The list goes on.
One name not likely to appear in that conversation, however, is Kawaan Baker. Which would come as no surprise to anyone with ties to the University of South Alabama football program, where Baker has been busy climbing up the record charts while trying to remain under the public radar.
"I've just always been that way, I like to stay low-key in everything that I do," he explained. "I don't want to have too many people in my business, I want to have some personal space. When I'm around my teammates I'm pretty playful with them a lot of the time. They know that side of me that can be low-key and quiet, but most of the time they see me laughing, playing and joking around."
"'KB' is a quiet guy who has a lot of personality," said Jag head coach Steve Campbell. "But he's not going to talk about it a whole lot, he is going to go out and do it on the football field."
"'KB' is pretty mild-mannered, he has a great personality but just isn't outgoing. He's pretty laid back," added Baker's position coach, Pete Bennett. "He's a completely different person off the field than he is on it, he is fun to be around."
On the field, opposing defensive backs generally have not found it fun as they've discovered what Baker is capable of. Entering tonight's Homecoming match-up against Texas State, Baker ranks among the top 10 in 12 different statistical categories in the program's record books; highlights include scoring the most points in school history by a wideout (126, which ranks sixth overall) — he's one of three players ever to post more than 20 total touchdowns — while closing in on becoming the sixth Jaguar to catch 100 or more passes. As South begins Sun Belt Conference play, Baker needs less than 300 yards to become the school's all-time leader in receiving yards.
None of which phases the 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior from Atlanta.
"I don't pay attention to that unless someone else mentions it," he said. "I'm just trying to do the best that I can and will worry about that later."
Baker lettered in both football and baseball at Hapeville Charter Career Academy, coming to South Alabama prior to the 2016 season after catching 39 passes for 937 yards — an average of better than 24 yards per reception — and 15 scores while helping the Hornets to a 6-4 finish. "A lot of bigger schools were interested but didn't offer me a scholarship, South was the biggest school to offer," he recalled.
He sat out his first fall as a redshirt, which is when members of the program first got to see Baker's no-frills approach to work.
"I worked on all the things that would make me bigger, stronger and faster on the field," Baker said. "While I was on the scout team I focused on running routes, I figured that going against the starters would make me better and get me ready for the college game. No one likes being on the scout team at first — everyone comes in wanting to be on the field playing as a freshman — so it can be a setback if you don't expect it. But I learned to be unselfish, it's not just about me; I was trying to help make the team better while I was building myself up.
"[Then assistant] Coach [Tyler] Siskey and I talked about it, if I sat out that year to build my skills it would be better for me in the long run — which has turned out to be the case — because I wouldn't have gotten a lot of playing time as a true freshman," he added. "I'm pretty thankful he did that for me. It was definitely different, but watching my teammates go out there and have fun made me happy."
Baker played primarily as a back-up during the 2017 season, catching seven balls for 102 yards while also averaging a team-best 25 yards per kickoff return. It was late in that year that he was able to provide a glimpse of what was to come. Making his first career start against Arkansas State on Senior Day, Baker recorded three receptions for 48 yards — both career-high totals at the time — highlighted by a 20-yard touchdown catch with just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest that provided the final margin of victory in a 24-19 decision. Three weeks later in the season finale at New Mexico State, he posted 139 all-purpose yards including 110 on kick returns.
But that would be the last game he would play under the coaching staff that recruited him, with Campbell taking over in time to prepare for the spring of 2018. In order to win over his new coaches, Baker did not alter course.
"At that point I just worked to show that I could be reliable and should be on the field," he explained. "I wanted them to know I would be someone they could count on."
Campbell didn't have to watch a lot of film to see what Baker brings to the table. "I knew he could be a great player in the league and be a Sunday player," he said. "You don't have to watch him for long to see that he is big, strong — he's one of the strongest guys on the team — and one of the most physical guys out there, which you don't see all the time at wide receiver, and that he has tremendous speed. The thing that separates Kawaan is that he is a very intelligent guy and his work ethic is tremendous."
"I saw a very physical kid who worked extremely hard and could run really fast," Jaguar offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield added. "Every day when he came to practice, Kawaan would do anything we asked him to. Any time a guy is that unselfish and he's that talented, you want to get him as many touches as you can."
Which set the stage for a breakout campaign for Baker.
In the Jags' 2018 debut against Louisiana Tech, he scored three times — twice on runs along with a touchdown reception — while rushing six times for 51 yards. He reached the end zone twice more in South's next game at Oklahoma State while scoring on both a run and a catch at Memphis two weeks later. By the end of the fall, Baker tied the school season record with 13 touchdowns, caught 33 passes for 494 yards and added 251 yards on the ground to earn honorable mention all-Sun Belt recognition.
"That year was definitely some of the most fun I've had at the collegiate level," he recalled. "I expected to be able to do that, I was showing what I could do throughout the spring and fall camp. It was great that the coaches trusted me and that they put the ball in my hands."
Baker followed up by once again picking up honorable mention all-conference accolades last season, leading South with 35 catches for 574 yards while scoring five touchdowns. He paced the Jags with 59 receiving yards in the opener at Nebraska, and showed his explosiveness with a 74-yard touchdown catch against Memphis as well as with a 75-yard scoring reception in a match-up with Georgia Southern; he finished the latter contest with 126 yards, the highest total of his career at that point, on four catches.
With fellow wide receiver Jalen Tolbert adding 521 yards on the year highlighted by a four-touchdown performance in a season-ending win over Arkansas State, the stage was set for the Jaguar passing attack to take off in 2020.
Having already established himself as a threat to opposing defenses, Baker looked to broaden his knowledge of the offense to help make a bigger impact on the unit.
"I wanted to play smarter and be more efficient, I wanted to know more about what everyone around me is supposed to do so that I can make as many plays as I can," he explained. "I'm a leader on the offense, I want to go out there and prove it."
The results were immediate. Baker had four receptions for 82 yards and a score in the opener at Southern Mississippi, with Tolbert adding 169 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Wayne contributing 101 yards as well. In the first-ever game at Hancock Whitney Stadium nine days later, Baker had 129 yards on seven catches — including scoring South's first-ever touchdown in the new venue — against Tulane, and he led the Jags again last time out with five catches against UAB. The unit contributed to back-to-back 300-yard passing games for Jaguar quarterbacks in the first two outings, the first time that has happened in school history.
In some cases, such a high level of competition internally can lead to jealousy within the group, but with Baker leading the way with his low-profile personality that hasn't happened at South.
"Coming in with this group of receivers who I meet and practice with every day, it's not a surprise to us; we've been doing it throughout the offseason," said Baker. "We know what we can do and are out there trying to show everybody else who didn't believe that we are excellent receivers. There is a competition between me and Jalen Wayne to see who can break the most tackles, but really we just want to win. No matter who scores everybody is happy."
"Competition is one of the main reasons why we are able to keep getting better," Bennett said. "Everyone in the room is competitive and they feed off of each other, which hasn't just helped our guys improve but also the guys on the other side of the ball."
Through three contests, he is among the Sun Belt and national leaders averaging 5.3 receptions, 82 receiving yards and 117.3 all-purpose yards per outing. But with sophomore Devin Voisin and true freshman Caullin Lacy earning playing time behind him, it's his leadership in the meeting and locker room that is just as important for the Jags this fall.
"More than anything Kawaan will lead by example, the younger guys watch him more for what he does than what he says," said Bennett. "When he gets out there he has a real businesslike mentality, I will constantly tell those guys 'Watch how 'KB' does this.' He sets a great example by what he does more so than what he says."
"He shows leadership with his toughness, he's never missed a rep," Campbell said. "He's very tough both physically and mentally, and those are the kind of leaders that you need."
"Every day in practice I want to make sure they know that I was in the same position that they are now, and that there is ample reason for hope," explained Baker. "I tell them all the time I think they can do better than I have, I think they're going to eventually blow my performance out of the water — I hope that happens. I'm trying to teach them the ropes."
Football wasn't actually Baker's first love growing up in Atlanta. "I've been playing since I was five years old, it's always been a part of my schedule," he said. "I don't remember why I started, but I've always had a passion for it. And I was always competitive as a kid, just like I am right now. But baseball came first, I started playing that when I was three years old and have always loved the sport."
As he continued to grow, though, both he and his father recognized that baseball wouldn't provide the most sensible path to getting to college.
"My dad and I started talking about it back when I was in the 10th grade, we came up with a plan that led me to using football to pursue a scholarship and go to college," said Baker. "Before that baseball was my No. 1 sport, but we recognized that there are more scholarships in football so I thought I might try and walk on to the baseball team wherever I went. But when I got to college I realized it was too hard to do both."
Now, as he climbs the school's record charts and continues to put in the work, the sport may take the mathematics/statistics major — who is also minoring in general business — beyond a college degree.
"When I got here Kawaan was already a good player with a lot of talent, we knew he was a guy who we had to get on the field," said Bennett. "He has come to work every day and gotten better, and one area I have really seen him improve in is how physical he is. He has gotten stronger and stronger as the years have gone on, now he's a great blocker and a real force on the perimeter."
When the time comes that Baker is no longer playing football, he has already found another passion to pursue. "I have a really big interest in building people's dream houses and remodeling houses to make them look much newer," he said. "That's a passion of mine that I've seen grow lately. When I go home and I'm with the family we watch a lot of those shows, we try to do little projects around the house. It's very interesting."
For now, he is content to put in the work and build a résumé on the field that will see him depart South Alabama as one of the top wide receivers in program history. How he hopes Jag Nation remembers him down the road — "That I was always quiet and humble," he said — fits perfectly with the nose-to-the-grindstone approach that has led to his success in Mobile.
And is definitely not something a diva would say.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
—USA—
