Baham jumps on Mizzou offer

Louisiana athlete Ca'Ron Baham said he had been keeping an eye on Missouri since the Tigers joined the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou offered the versatile playmaker on Friday and he didn't take long to make a decision.

"I actually thought they would be one of my first offers," Baham said. "Once I got the offer yesterday, it was offer I've been waiting on so I wanted to secure my scholarship and I committed."


Baham, a three-star prospect and the No. 30 player in Louisiana, also has offers from Arizona, Arkansas and Memphis among others. One of the main reasons he chose Mizzou was his relationship with wide receivers coach Pat Washington.


"We got that connection. He's also from New Orleans," Baham said. "I've got a great relationship with coach Pat and he's coached many guys who have played in the NFL.

"He said he liked my speed, my ability. He said he didn't even need to see me run routes."


Baham has played receiver, quarterback, cornerback and returned punts and kickoffs for John Ehret High School over the last two seasons, but says Washington has already told him he'll have "first dibs" when Baham gets to college. Baham said receiver is also his first choice of positions.

"I'm familiar at that position," he said. "One of our playoff games to go to the second round, it came down to the fourth quarter. The coach said it was time for a young guy to step up. He gave me a chance, threw me the ball and we can back and won the game. That's when I knew I had the talent to do something special at that position."

Baham played quarterback as a junior, when he said his coach's philosophy was to just put the best athlete behind center. He didn't throw the ball much, completing 27-of-62 passes, but he used his athleticism to run for 100 yards or more five times. That included games of 263 yards and 289 yards (with nine touchdowns between the two) rushing.

The only player Missouri has had from Louisiana in recent years is Shreveport product L'Damian Washington. But with the Tigers in the SEC, Baham said Mizzou's name is spreading in the state.

"The SEC is basically a down south conference. They probably didn't know much about Missouri when they were in the conference they were in before," he said. "Now kids are picking up on it. They just entered the SEC, now they have back to back SEC East championships."

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