2012 West #73
Paul Baker
Defensive Line
6’2″ 250
High School Coach: Derek Pennington
High School, Class: Zeeland East, A
College: Saginaw Valley State University
Paul is the son of Gary and Julia Baker. He comes from a family of ten, with five sisters and two brothers. They have supported him ever since he started playing football.
Paul started playing football in the second grade and loved it from the very beginning. His junior year he started on a team that was undefeated in the regular season and lost to the state champions at the regional playoffs with an 11-1 record. His senior year they had a record of 9-2 and lost in the district championship. Paul started on both sides of the ball playing offensive tackle and defensive end. He earned All Conference, All Area Dream Team, and All State First Team.
Paul also participated in wrestling, as well as track and field, where he threw discuss and shot put. He was a state qualifier in both of these sports as a junior and in wrestling placed seventh in state in the 285 weight class as a senior. He plans on placing high in the state track meet and intends to be the first player in Zeeland East’s history to achieve all state honors in three sports.
Paul said, “I would like to thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to perform so well in all three sports, and achieve my goal of playing at the collegiate level at Saginaw Valley State University. I also thank my parents and family for supporting me, and my coaches for pushing me to strive to be the best student athlete I could possibly become.”
Awards
Honorable Mention All State, 2010
All Conference, 2011
All Area Dream Team, 2011
1st Team All State, 2011