Sean Baker doesn't do slow. His walk is more of a jog. He briskly fields media questions, one word spilling over the one before it.
It's been that way since his first days as a freshman on campus. Which made it surprising when Ball State coach Stan Parrish said his starting safety and defensive leader has never been faster.
"He's really playing at a different speed right now. He looks like a bullet back there in practice," Parrish said. "He's our leader back there. He brings tremendous juice to the field every day.
"I think he's a very confident player right now."
It seems Baker, a redshirt junior, never struggled with confidence. Most players have a learning curve when they begin their college careers. Baker had 94 tackles and led Ball State with six interceptions. He was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the Sporting News Freshmen All-American Team in 2008.
By any measurement, 2009 was a step backward.
Baker had 11 tackles and his seventh career interception in the Cardinals season-opening loss to North Texas. His production quickly diminished.
A broken hand in the season's third game against Army forced Baker to miss Ball State's 54-30 loss at Auburn the following week. He played the remaining season, but the injury affected him.
Baker finished with two fewer interceptions and 33 fewer tackles in 2009 for a defense that was supposed to overcome an inexperienced offense and carry Ball State to success, but never did.
He said the biggest thing he's learned is to harness his aggressiveness and stay more disciplined so he doesn't overcommit and make mistakes.
"I understand the game more," Baker said. "When I was younger, I was running right off the (playbook), just doing whatever I was told. Now I have to use my experience to be able to make more plays outside of what the coaches can teach you.
"I've got to play as fast as I can on the field physically, but mentally I have to slow my mind down."
Now that he has four years in the program, Baker said, he's gained perspective.
He's always benefitted from playing alongside Alex Knipp, who led Ball State's secondary until graduating last season. It's Baker's turn to guide the group, which adds three freshmen cornerbacks this fall.
"I don't think there's any question," Parrish said when asked if Baker has taken more of a leadership role. "He mentors the young (defensive backs). He's really taken them under his wing.
"I think he has a chance to emerge as one of the best safeties we've had here."
That's high praise in a program that boasts four-time NFL Pro Bowler Blaine Bishop, who helped lead the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV. Baker said he appreciated the compliment, but he won't stop working to improve.
When asked about his season goals, Baker's response had nothing to do with individual accomplishment.
"I'm trying to lead the top secondary in the league," he said. "That's what we want. When it comes down to third-and-long and we need to get off the field, it's going to come down to us mostly.
"We want to have the best secondary in the MAC, because that usually determines who leads the best defense in the MAC."
It's a sign of his maturity, and his willingness to receive a bigger role this season. He isn't the same player he was in 2008, Baker said, and maybe that's a good thing.
"It feels like I've grown up through the program," he said. "Just understanding the defense, and understanding what it's like to be a football player. When I was young, I was just out here trying not to get yelled at, trying to do what I can. But now I'm trying to set the bar at a higher level.
"There's always room to improve. I always go by, ‘Stay hungry, stay humble.'"
And with Sean Baker, stay fast.
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