TAMPA, Fla. – Dallas Baker has one of those where-does-time-go pauses on the phone when reminded it has been 11 years, his lack of words saying plenty.
Baker turned 34 in November and recently completed his second season as receivers coach/passing game coordinator at Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla.
Once he regathers his thoughts, Baker has no trouble recalling one of the best games of his career. The Gators face Iowa on Monday in the Outback Bowl for the third time in school history, and Baker, nicknamed "Dallas Baker, Touchdown Maker" during his career, had touchdown catches in both games.
The first capped his freshman season in 2003, a 37-17 loss to the Hawkeyes in Ron Zook's second year as Florida's head coach. Baker caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chris Leak long after the game had been decided.
Baker's second trip here for the Outback Bowl is the one he remembers most fondly. He has an MVP trophy as a constant reminder. Baker caught 10 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns – 24 and 38 yards from Leak – to help the Gators cap Urban Meyer's first season with a 31-24 victory over the Hawkeyes.
"We felt like that was a payback game,'' he said Saturday. "And with the game plan, we were so confident. We shouldn't have lost to them the first time. I mean, we play in the SEC. It may sound a little conceited, but that's how we thought back then."
By the time Baker stepped onto the field at Raymond James Stadium that day, he was a much better player than his first two seasons. Meyer rebooted the program and was a stickler for details.
Baker bought in. Prior to kickoff he was certain the Gators would avenge their loss two years earlier.
"Coach Meyer would always hit on that he wanted his players to run routes in the dark and to know where each other were,'' Baker said. "Giving us that long to get ready for a game, it was going to be tough to beat us."
The nephew of former NFL and Gators star West Chandler, Baker used his Outback Bowl MVP performance to kick-start his senior season. And so did the Gators, who won the national title in Baker's final season in 2006.
"That game, at least for me, was definitely a confidence builder going into the next year,'' he said. "I knew the game, but I was putting so much pressure on myself. Coach [Dan] Mullen was telling me, 'look, I don't care how many passes you drop, I'm throwing you the football.' From then on my confidence was high."
Baker scored Florida's first touchdown in the BCS National Championship victory over Ohio State.
He later spent time in the NFL with Pittsburgh – earning a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Steelers in 2008 – and later the Canadian Football League.
Baker had always had interest in becoming a coach and after some soul searching in 2014, got an opportunity at Warner.
He won't be at Monday's game, but eleven years later, the Outback Bowl remains an important part of his career.
"For me it was all a blessing,'' he said. "That is something I cherish."
