After a spectacular spring game backed up by a solid fall camp, many fans were clamoring for true sophomore Jerome Baker to be named the starting walkout linebacker ahead of redshirt junior Chris Worley.
Instead, Worley earned his keep but with outside linebacker Dante Booker out with an injury since early in the season opener, Baker realized an uptick in minutes and took his performance to a new level with a monster performance in Ohio State's big win over Oklahoma.
Starting alongside Raekwon McMillan and Worley, Baker racked up seven stops including 1.5 sacks though his main highlight came on a pick six giving the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead with just over four minutes to play in the opening quarter.
Baker showed outstanding ball skills on the play, snagging a pass tipped by teammate Jalyn Holmes before racing 68 yards to paydirt.
After the big play early, Baker also came up huge late helping thwart 4th down conversion attempts by the Sooners on back-to-back possessions in the final quarter to help seal the deal.
Standing 6'1", 225 pounds with impressive lateral quickness and instincts to match, Baker will only get better with experience.
Though it's a limited body of work Baker's play speaks for itself. In fact, at this point, there seems to be little doubt he's one of the squad's best 11 defenders. As such, it seems plausible Booker could be about to Wally Pipp'd in favor of what could be another rising star on a stacked Buckeye roster.
