UNLV walk-on earns full scholarship ahead of season opener

By Taylor Bern

Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Dalton Baker had no idea it was coming. After UNLV’s mock game at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night, coach Tony Sanchez told his team to watch the video board so they could see this season’s hype video with a special message afterward.

“I thought we were going to get some new jerseys or something,” Baker said.

No, the uniforms this year are set — look for the all-black combination to make its debut Oct. 1 against Fresno State. Instead, the entire team erupted at the end when they saw that Baker, a redshirt sophomore walk-on safety, had earned a full-ride scholarship.

“It was really cool because my teammates all gathered around me and were like a family, and that really solidified it,” Baker said.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Baker spent last season working with the third-team defensive backs and starting on special teams. This year he’s currently second on the depth chart at strong safety behind senior Troy Hawthorne, and coach Tony Sanchez said Baker would again be a key part of their special teams coverage.

“He’s a guy that we’re going to have to depend on to help us win football games,” Sanchez said. “… If you’re out-competing a guy that’s on scholarship then the guy deserves a scholarship.”

Sanchez and Baker, a Bishop Gorman High grad, have known each other for several years going back to their days as Gaels. Baker started as a receiver at Gorman, and then before senior year Sanchez asked him to move over to defense, a complete change that Baker took in stride.

“My first goal is to help the team, above all,” Baker said.

When Baker left Gorman there was more playing time available at lower-level programs, but he wanted to play Division I so he walked on and redshirted during coach Bobby Hauck’s final season at UNLV. From there Baker worked his way up through special teams, and this year he could see significant playing time as part of the defensive backfield rotation.

“I think it speaks volumes to the whole team about loyalty, working hard and just showing up every day and being blue collar,” Sanchez said. “… It reflects the stuff that you preach every single day.”

Sanchez, who noted that Baker earned his scholarship at UNLV and not because of their Gorman connection, said it usually takes at least a couple of years for any walk-on to earn his way onto scholarship. On top of that they’ve got to be a contributor, like junior linebacker Roscoe Kalilikane, a special teams stalwart who was bumped up from walk-on to full-ride in April.

After Baker got the news, he called his family to celebrate. His father, Baker said, started crying and his grandfather came home early from a trip to celebrate with the whole family.

They’ve been there to support him each step of the way, as has UNLV football. Baker doesn’t want to let either of them down.

“If anything I’ve got to work harder now, because we’ve still got to get to the top of the mountain,” Baker said. “Right now, this is a milestone for me but we’ve got places we want to go as a team so that’s what I want to help to do.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.