USC, Illini took different bowl paths

When Southern Cal's offense hits the field for its first play on New Year's Day, the Trojans' Sam Baker and Illinois' Will Davis will line up across from each other.

They couldn't have taken more dissimilar paths to the Rose Bowl's immaculate grass, yet their battle will be one of the keys that decides the winner in Pasadena, Calif.

Another reason to focus on the showdown between the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Baker and the 6-3, 246-pound Davis?

Their stories remind why Southern Cal represents college football royalty and Illinois serves as the hardscrabble commoner in this unexpected BCS bowl matchup.

Let's start by visiting Baker and Davis in early February 2003.

That's when Baker, a national top-100 recruit whose father, David, has been the Arena Football League's commissioner since 1996, signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal as part of a recruiting class that included Reggie Bush and LenDale White.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in Greenbelt, Md., Davis had yet to play his first snap of organized football.

Since his parents were born and raised in Liberia -- his mother still works there for the African country's president -- football didn't become an official part of Davis' life until his final two years at Roosevelt High School.

When Davis signed his letter of intent two years later as part of Ron Zook's first recruiting class, he was considered an underweight two-star prospect who didn't have a true position.

Baker, who, according to the Orange County Register, thought hard about turning pro last year, developed into a four-year starter at left tackle as well as a likely first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

And would now be a good time to mention Baker joins Matt Leinart and Richard Wood (Class of 1975) as the only three-time All-Americans in USC's gilded history?

"I'm glad I came back here," Baker told the Register.

Meanwhile, Davis spent his first year at Illinois as a backup tight end, spent last year as a backup defensive end, and didn't make his first start in 2007 until one-third of the season went past.

But it's not wrong to suggest Baker will have his hands full with Davis -- or will even get the chance to deal with him 1-on-1.

Ever since the second-team all-Big Ten defensive end exploded for 4 sacks against Indiana on Sept. 22, not many opponents have dared to assign just one blocker to the absurdly quick Davis.

"Some games, they left in the running back to chip off every time I came off (the line)," Davis said. "Or they'd 'max-protect.' Wisconsin, especially.

"I looked at a press conference (transcript) and they asked their coach about the D-end who's been getting around everybody, and he said they were going to max-protect a lot. They were leaving tight ends and running backs and everybody in there."

Davis managed just 4 sacks in Illinois' last eight games, but his presence helped the Illini average 3 sacks a game in his eight starts.

His 9½ sacks rank fifth on Illinois' all-time single-season list behind eventual NFL players Simeon Rice and Scott Davis (and Mike Poloskey).

"I knew I was going to have a good year," Davis said, "but I was blessed with a better year than even I expected."

Davis' splendid time at Illinois has paid off handsomely for the team in other ways, too.

Davis and backup linebacker Rodney Pittman were the pioneers of the Maryland/D.C.-to-Illinois pipeline -- the first to commit after Ron Zook took over.

Since their arrival, the Illini lured five players from that area in 2006, three in last year's class and two recruits who'll sign in February.

It's no coincidence Davis and Pittman, who share a place near Memorial Stadium known within the program as "Maryland/D.C. House," host many of the visitors from their area.

"It's always the same (questions)," Davis said. "'How's the social life? How's the coaches?' They know the coaches are telling them something, but they don't know if it's true or not. There's no way they can say if it's true unless they ask us.

"They have a trust in me. We take 'em up (to the house) and they have a trust in me that I won't lie to them."