December 27, 2015

Thomas, Baker headed to Savannah for USA College Bowl

SAVANNAH, GA. – Carson-Newman football quarterback De’Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) and running back Damian Baker have been selected for the USA College Bowl to be played in Savannah, Ga. Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. at Savannah State’s T.A. Wright Stadium.

SAVANNAH, GA. – Carson-Newman football quarterback De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) and running back Damian Baker have been selected for the USA College Bowl to be played in Savannah, Ga. Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. at Savannah State's T.A. Wright Stadium.

Thomas finished his C-N career by becoming the first Eagle to ever throw for 400 yards in a game. Thomas finished 20-for-27 with 416 yards passing, besting Danny Sanders' previous mark of 380 yards set in 1978 against Lenoir-Rhyne.

Ward snagged eight passes for 214 yards and two scores. The 214-yard day is the third best single-game receiving total by an Eagle and the first time a wideout has caught 200 yards worth of passes by a Sparks-coached team. It had been more than 13,000 days since Carson-Newman last had a 200-yard receiver.

Thomas was a first team All-SAC quarterback. The Milledgeville, Ga.-native inserted himself into the Carson-Newman record books in his senior season.

Thomas finishes his career with 43 rushing touchdowns, good for fourth all-time and first among C-N quarterbacks. His 2,592 yards rushing are 15^thall-time.

He ranks first in career completion percentage (56 percent) and his 4,751 yards passing are fourth all-time for C-N.

Baker previously earned first team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association and second team honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association and AP Little All-America

Baker became the first Eagle to earn an All-America honor from the AFCA since center Kevin Day was on his way to a Rimmington Trophy and consensus All-America honors following the Eagles' trip to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2012.

The senior becomes Carson-Newman's 117^th All-America honoree all-time.

Baker is the third Eagle running back to earn All-America honors in the last four years, joining Brandon Baker (no relation) and Andy Hibbett.

Baker, who is also a Harlon Hill trophy finalist, becomes the fourth Carson-Newman player to make it the award's final round, and the second in as many years. Running back Andy Hibbett made the finals last season before finishing seventh in the voting. Quarterback Leonard Guyton was a finalist in 2002, while running back Tyrone Westmoreland was the first Harlon Hill finalist for C-N in 1997. Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph is the only South Atlantic Conference player to win the award – doing so in 2011.

Damian Baker finished the regular season ranked in the top 25 in the nation in five rushing categories and as the SAC Offensive Player of the Year and a first team all-SAC selection. He closed out the regular season slate with 1,403 rushing yards to rank No. 11 in Division II, while his 116.9 rushing yards per game was good for No. 20 in the country. Baker piled up 7.16 yards per carry to rank No. 9 in the nation and his 18 rushing touchdowns are No. 11 in D-II.

The tailback averaged 9.8 points per game to finish at No. 20 in the nation to help the Eagles rank No. 5 in the country as a team with 43.3 points per outing.

"Being able to come back and play that first game was big," Baker said. "That's when it came back to reality that I was actually playing football. I'm thankful for what Derek and the offensive line did up front, and also for what Dre (De'Andre Thomas) did at quarterback. Couldn't have done this without them."

Baker accounted for 128.5 all-purpose yards per game for the Eagles to fuel a team rushing attack that is currently No. 4 in the nation with 327 yards per game. He turned in six 100-yard rushing games this season, including 249 yards on the ground vs. Mars Hill on Sept. 26 – the seventh highest single game tally in Carson-Newman history. Baker was just three yards shy of his second 200-yard game this season vs. Tusculum in the season finale as he notched 197 rushing yards.

"Thanks to coach Hibbett and coach Sparks," Baker said. "I think people realize now that we've got some pretty good running backs here. When the season first started, Andy encouraged me that I could do it. I set my eyes on having a season like he had last year. I wanted to do what he did."

Baker has also factored prominently in the Carson-Newman record books in his senior season. He has a pair of four touchdown days this year, against Mars Hill and Newberry and is the only player since the turn of the century to score four rushing touchdowns twice in the same season.

With his 1,403 rushing yards, Baker has the eighth highest single-season total in Carson-Newman history and his 18 rushing touchdowns are the seventh highest single-season total in school history.

On top of that his 114 points scored this year are tied for sixth all-time in school history.

Founded in 1996 as the USA College Football Bowl for outstanding Division III seniors, the event absorbed the D-II Cactus Bowl in 2011 which has began in 1995 as the Snow Bowl. In 2012, NAIA and Division I FCS student-athletes were included while Division I FBS players joined the event in 2014. It ranks third behind the East - West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl in longevity, all three of which will be featured in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.