Tag: Javon Baker

2024 NFL draft: 1 prospect to watch in each bowl game (Dec. 18-22)

Here’s who will be garnering the attention of NFL scouts from Dec. 18 through the 22nd.

‘Tis the season for college football bowl games.

Throughout the next couple of weeks, I’ll be highlighting a prospect from each bowl game, starting from the Famous Toastery Bowl all the way to the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s who will be garnering the attention of NFL scouts from Dec. 18 through the 22nd.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Kansas

Can the Oklahoma Sooners extend their winning streak over Kansas on Saturday? Here are our five keys to the game.

On Saturday, No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) will take on Lance Leipold’s [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] (5-2, 2-2) for the final time as Big 12 foes.

Oklahoma needs to play a much better game on Saturday than they did against the UCF Knights. They looked to be sleepwalking through the game at times and could have been more crisp on offense. The offensive line had its worst game of the season in pass protection, and until the fourth quarter, the Sooners couldn’t expose a lousy run defense.

Defensively, two busted plays defined the day, as both led to UCF touchdowns. Those plays aside, it was an excellent day for an Oklahoma defense that continues to show improvement.

Kansas will present another challenge for this revitalized Oklahoma defense. The Sooners D continues to make opposing offenses look outmatched at times. Aside from the occasional busts in coverages, this unit is much better than the one that Kansas saw in Norman last year when Kansas quarterback Jason Bean threw four touchdowns.

The Jayhawks have two solid running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. They are as explosive as teams get and will provide Oklahoma with a challenge.

Ultimately, the Sooners still hold advantages at multiple spots. With their lackluster performance from UCF behind them, the Sooners should come out on fire.

The Jayhawks surely won’t go down without a fight, and Brent Venables will make sure the team knows that.

Kansas hasn’t beaten OU since 1997. The Sooners have won the last 18 matchups between the two sides. But what are the keys to Oklahoma closing out the 100-year series with a win? Here are this week’s keys to the game.

Report Card: Sooners sleepwalk on offense in UCF scare

Oklahoma took on UCF for the first time Saturday. UCF hung tough but the Sooners pulled it out late. Here is this week’s report card.

Saturday’s performance was an aberration for Team 129. The team we saw on Saturday was eerily reminiscent of the team that took the field 13 times last season to not-so-fun results. Yet, they knuckled up and found a way when it mattered most.

If we’re being honest, last year’s team would not have won that game. But despite the miserable team performance, it never felt like they wouldn’t make the necessary plays to win. That is a true testament to the wholesale changes in mentality, effort, talent, and coaching from last year to 2023.

Let’s get to the bottom line here with the dust settled. Oklahoma won, but it might have been the worst they looked on offense all year. It’s time to pass out grades in this week’s report card.

UCF’s Javon Baker blew a kiss to the Oklahoma bench while scoring an 86-yard touchdown

A well-earned taunting penalty

UCF came into Saturday’s matchup at No. 6 Oklahoma as a 17.5-point underdog and with pretty much nothing to lose.

At 0-3 in conference play (3-3 overall), the Knights’ transition to the Big 12 has been less than ideal, but those fortunes appeared to change a bit on Saturday in Norman as UCF found itself tied with the Sooners at 17 going into halftime.

And the reason for that had a lot to do with Javon Baker’s 86-yard touchdown reception on a play so gorgeous it’s surprising the Knights don’t run it more often.

But this isn’t about the touchdown or the potential upset. It’s about what Baker did while jogging into the end zone: He blew a kiss to the Oklahoma bench.

Naturally, Baker was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, but the the touchdown stood despite Oklahoma coach Brent Venables lashing out at officials.

As always, the solution to making sure opponents can’t taunt you is to play better. This is, after all, the same OU program that celebrated all of Baker Mayfield’s antics not too long ago.

Sometimes you’re the taunted and sometimes you’re the tauntee.

 

2023 Season Preview: Oklahoma faces new challenge in UCF Knights

The Oklahoma Sooners and the UCF Knights face off for the first time in their respective history as Big 12 foes.

In our next opponent preview, we take a look at a sneaky-good team, the UCF Knights.

Oklahoma and UCF have never faced each other on the gridiron. This year in Norman, they’ll break the ice in the Sooners’ final year in the Big 12 and the Knights’ inaugural season as a Power Five team.

UCF is an interesting team. They bring back a lot of their team that just went 9-5 and played for a conference championship.

They were also ranked the last five weeks of the season before ending the year on a two-game losing streak, which included their Military Bowl loss to Drake May and the Duke Blue Devils.

According to ESPN (ESPN+), UCF returns 66 percent of its production, which ranks 51st in the nation. They return 62 percent of their offense which ranks 78th in the nation, and 69 percent of their defense, which ranks 43rd.

Their offense finished 16th in the country last season. Gus Malzahn knows how to coach offense, so it should be good again. Defensively they finished 69th in the country, but, as we said, they return a lot which should help them as they make the transition to the Big 12.

Starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee returns after throwing for 2,586 yards, 14 touchdowns, and eight interceptions last season while completing 63 percent of his passes. He also ran for 862 yards, which led the team, and 11 touchdowns.

They lost their second-leading rusher Isaiah Bowser, but he only finished with three yards more than R.J. Harvey, who does return. Harvey averaged more yards per carry as well, but Bowser had more touchdowns.

They lost wide receiver Ryan O’Keefe, who was second in receiving yards last year. However, they bring back leading receiver Javon Baker, who caught 56 passes for 796 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Kobe Hudson, who led the Knights with seven touchdown receptions, also returns.

If you watched any games of a Malzahn offense, you know how much they love the read option. If you watched Oklahoma play last year, you know how much the Sooners struggled with a running quarterback.

This is a matchup nightmare for the Sooners. It’s why you better hope this defense is much improved, or this is a game they could lose.

The one thing they have going for them is the Sooners will be coming off a bye week. So, they’ll have two weeks to prepare.

Defensively, the Knights return leading tackler Jason Johnson, who had 126 tackles last season. They also bring back four of the top five players in tackles from a year ago.

The Knights also lost only one of the players in the top five in sacks as well. Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste now playing for the Ole Miss Rebels.

UCF returns a lot of production and experience, but they are entering a new conference. The Knights will be one of the most intriguing teams to watch this season. They are a team that could make a lot of noise in the conference. They are also a team that the new conference could be too much for them.

Because of everything Malzahn and that offense brings, this one is going to be a shootout, in my opinion. It’s also one of those games the Sooners would not have won last year.

Score Prediction: 38-35 Oklahoma

Predicted Record: 6-1

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Former Alabama WR Javon Baker announces transfer destination

Former Alabama wide receiver announces he will be transferring to AAC school.

Former Alabama wide receiver, [autotag]Javon Baker[/autotag], announced via Instagram that he will be transferring to the University of Central Florida. Baker will be joining former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn in Orlando.

Baker was a four-star receiver out of Georgia in the 2020 recruiting cycle. After two seasons with the Tide, Baker decided it was best to enter the portal and explore other opportunities. He did not see a ton of playing time through two seasons. He posted nine catches for 116 yards and a single score in his career at Alabama.

Initially, Baker had intended on going to Kentucky before announcing that was no longer the case on May 27. Just two weeks later, he decided on the Golden Knights. There, he will likely see immediate playing time.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover the Crimson Tide over the course of the 2022 offseason.

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Former Alabama WR Javon Baker explains decommitment from UK, return to the portal

Javon Baker, former Crimson Tide receiver, has re-entered the transfer portal.

Former Alabama wide receiver [autotag]Javon Baker[/autotag] entered the transfer portal on Jan. 14 of this year. After getting beat out for playing time by some younger players like [autotag]JoJo Earle[/autotag] and [autotag]Traeshon Holden,[/autotag] Baker thought it would be in his best interest to hit the portal and find a new program.

After having multiple suitors, Baker decided on the Kentucky Wildcats a week later. He was not on campus this spring, but was planning to enroll for the fall. With star quarterback Will Levis, thinks looked promising for Baker.

Yesterday Baker announced that he will not be joining the Wildcats. There was much speculation that he had changed his mind. However, on his instagram page today Baker shared that Kentucky had pulled his scholarship offer.

Baker officially re-entered the portal today and he surely will garnish interest from multiple programs again. Baker was a four-star out of high school and a top 200 prospect in his class.

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Former Alabama WR Javon Baker announces transfer destination

Baker announced his new home, and will be staying in the SEC.

Former Alabama wide receiver Javon Baker recently entered the NCAA transfer portal shortly after the Crimson Tide’s loss to Georgia in the national championship game. Today, Baker announced via his Instagram that he will be staying in the SEC to play at Kentucky.

Baker spent two seasons at Alabama, where he had nine catches for 116 yards and a single touchdown.

The Georgia native was a four-star recruit out of high school and held offers from nearly every SEC program, including his current team, Kentucky.

Losing Baker is a hit for the receiving corps at Alabama, as the team just lost John Metchie III, Jameson Williams and Slade Bolden to the NFL Draft.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Baker and all other former Alabama players as they transition to their new programs.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

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Gators make good impression on Alabama WR transfer receiver during visit

After losing two of the team’s top pass-catchers to the portal, Florida is in a prime position to land this SEC transfer.

Florida hosted several recruits over the weekend, and one of the surprise names in the Swamp was Alabama transfer receiver Javon Baker.

Baker left Gainesville impressed with Florida and said that the Gators’ chances of landing him were “pretty high,” according to 247Sports. He spent time with Billy Napier and receivers coach Keary Colbert during his visit, who seems to have made an impact on him.

“He was at USC, and he played receiver in the league, too,” Baker said. “I like that. I like that about a coach, he can show me how to do stuff, not just play another position, or play football at all, just coaching me; I like all that. So that played a role.”

Before he made his visit, Baker spoke to former Alabama players who were familiar with Napier from his time in Tuscaloosa. The scouting report came back positive on Coach Nape, giving Florida a leg up before even getting him on campus. Another helpful note in Baker’s recruitment is that he played high school ball with Gators quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.

Florida just lost its No. 1 receiver, Jacob Copeland, to Maryland and starting tight end Kemore Gamble to UCF. Justin Shorter is set to step up as next year’s main receiver with Trent Whittemore taking over the slot following Rick Wells‘ graduation. Xzavier Henderson has played significant snaps, but Baker could insert himself into the rotation rather easily with the Gators’ limited depth.

In two years at Alabama, Baker has totaled nine receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. He worked on special teams in the Crimson Tide’s game against the Gators this season.

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Alabama WR Javon Baker enters NCAA transfer portal

Another young Crimson Tide player enters the portal.

With the official arrival of the college football offseason comes players entering the NCAA transfer portal. Numerous Crimson Tide players have already announced their intentions to transfer from the program, and now a wide receiver has thrown his name into the mix.

Rising junior wide receiver Javon Baker announced via Twitter that he will be transferring.

Baker, through two seasons, reeled in nine receptions for 116 yards and a single touchdown.

The Georgia native wide receiver was a four-star recruit in the 2020 class. He chose Alabama over other high-profile programs that extended offers, such as Auburn, Florida, Ohio State and others.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.