Nov. 22, 2000
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Jim Montgomery appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
He is big enough. He is fast enough. He has the skills. He is headed for the National Football League which, given the quantum leap toward air power, is crying for cornerbacks. This fits nicely with Gary Baxter's qualifications.
"The time is right," allowed the senior who probably plays his position better than any other Bear. Some might term that accolade a dubious honor, given the 2-9 finish, but not his coaches.
"Gary's a coach's dream," said Kevin Steele, "just a special person with a world of ability, and he gets better all the time. He's so positive, one of the most competitive people I've ever been around, and yet he has resilience.
"He's able to handle adversity, which a lot of competitive people can't."
"He's done all the things we've asked him to do. I can't say enough good things about Gary Baxter," defensive coordinator Brick Haley concurred.
WHAT BAYLOR HAS ASKED Baxter to do forms a lengthy list. A corner's primary duties are coverage and tackling, in that order, but Baxter at times turns up at safety and in run support. Recently, he's added blitzing to his accomplishments, as Texas' Major Applewhite could testify.
"We've moved him around some," Haley said, footnoting that it had a double purpose: "Give him a little more exposure and let people see all the things he can do other than just cover."
The "people," in this case would be pro football scouts whose recommendations will be heard next spring in the annual draft. Baxter is a cinch to be taken quickly, given his reputation and his status as a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award that goes to the nation's top defensive back.
"Thomas Everett won that (1986)," Baxter remembered. "I've really been blessed, to be a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, and I thank God for all he's done for me."
The two Baylor DBs are hardly contemporaries, given the age difference, but they are acquaintances.
"Thomas came up to me on the sidelines last (1999) season," Baxter said. "He told me to keep my head up, to be positive. He said you can't quit because the younger guys are looking up to you. I took his words to heart."
Actually, Everett was preaching to the convinced.
"MY HIGH SCHOOL COACH at Tyler John Tyler always told us never quit, never give up no matter what, play your heart out. There are things you can't control, but you don't give up."
What Baxter does do is strive for constant improvement. As an accomplished cover corner, he doesn't see a lot of enemy passes coming his way ("a mark of respect," Steele points out), bringing minimal opportunities for headline-grabbing interceptions. Baxter, therefore, has expanded his horizons.
Last season he was eighth on the team in tackles. This year he's first or second, right up there with middle backer Kris Micheaux, in part owing to Samir Al-Amin's injuries.
Still, Baxter totaled but six interceptions in four seasons, and no touchdowns. He came within a yellow flag of a six-pointer in his final appearance at Floyd Casey Stadium, taking a Missouri fumble to the end zone. Alas, too many men on the field.
"That really hurt," Baxter admitted. "I really wanted that touchdown, for me and for my team. It could have been the turning point of the game."
Business for Baxter began lessening after the second game of his sophomore season, in 1998. "The North Carolina State game was where I made my name," said Baxter, who shut out the Wolfpack's Terry Holt in the fourth quarter and blocked a last-second field goal to assure a 33-30 Baylor victory. Holt, now an NFL star, was having a field day earlier, 9 catches, 233 yards, two touchdowns.
"Everybody was throwing at me, all over the place," Baxter related of the era before the fourth-quarter turnaround. "Then people started realizing I'd make a play if they kept throwing at me. My junior and senior years they barely came at me and when they did they would get me, but I didn't get that many opportunities to make up for what they did."
Holt remains one of the several enemy receivers who impressed Baxter.
"I wouldn't say they gave me problems. I'd rather say they gave me challenges," he prefaced, then listed, "Kwame Cavil (Texas) did. Chris Cole of A&M. I don't know how to pronounce his first name but Green (Javon) of Colorado. Ron Johnson of Minnesota. And that freshman at Texas, Roy Williams," he said.
Baxter has a quick response when asked if he has patterned his game after any particular defensive back. "Deion Sanders, of course," he said. "But once I get to that level I want to be better than Deion."
He's already a better tackler than the Neon one.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Jim Montgomery appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
