Crowd Pleasers - Edward Wright-Baker

There have been times when Edward Wright-Baker would walk into Jeffersonville athletic director Tony Branch's office and just sit without saying a word. "I asked him, 'How do you call plays in the huddle?'" Branch recalls. You see, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior quarterback may come off quiet, or laid back off the field, but on the field he lets his play do the talking. Last season Wright-Baker passed for 1,582 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 1,197 yards and 19 TDs in helping Jeff to a 10-3 and its first sectional title since 1998. "He's a leader," Jeff coach Steve Cooley says. "He's mutli-talented: He can rush with the football, throw the football, he can throw on the run, and he can drop back and pass. We plan on him having a great year for us." According to Wright-Baker, who has committed to Indiana University, his goals this season are to "throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,500 and have at least 50 touchdowns." "I want to become more of a passer this year," he says. "I know I can run, but I throw every day to try and get my arm stronger. I can throw a lot farther than I used to throw. I can throw at least 10 more yards easily just by flicking my wrist and I throw harder." In fact Cooley would like to see Wright-Baker call his own number more often. "He's so unselfish, he loves to spread the ball around, (but) I'd like him to run the ball more," the Jeff coach says. "We've looked at some new wrinkles in the offseason. He can be a Tim Tebow threat like Florida has—he can just pound people with his physical stature. "He's very modest, very humble, very dedicated. He's laid back, but he comes to practice with a hard-work attitude. He's a lot of fun to be around."