Pack's Baker undecided on future

N.C. State running back Toney Baker hasn't decided yet what he will do if the NCAA grants him a sixth season of eligibility.

Because Baker missed all but one game for two straight seasons with a serious knee injury, there's a chance that the NCAA will award him an extra season in 2010. N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien has said another healthier year with the Wolfpack would help Baker erase any doubts that NFL scouts might have about his knee.

O'Brien hopes to have a decision from the NCAA within the next couple weeks. Even if he is granted a sixth season, Baker could enter the NFL draft instead.

"I haven't quite decided," Baker said after practice Wednesday. "After the season I will talk to my family and Coach O'Brien and all these guys, and we'll figure out what's best for me."

Baker has bounced back nicely from the injury. He leads the team with 664 rushing yards and needs just 25 more to surpass his career season best, which was set when he was a sophomore in 2006.

With 24 receptions for 306 yards and three scores, he already has career-high numbers as a receiver. He's in an unusual situation now as a senior who might be playing in his last two games over the next two weeks, but isn't quite sure.

"It's almost crazy that I'm a senior already," Baker said. "It's gone by so fast, it seems like."

Baker is preparing for a visit to Virginia Tech on Saturday as perhaps the only player on the current team who was at Lane Stadium the last time N.C. State played there. The Wolfpack won 17-16 that game in 2004 when the Hokies missed a field goal attempt in the closing seconds.

That day, Baker was a high school senior on a recruiting visit - to Virginia Tech.

"It was a great weekend," Baker said. "The fans there were great. It was a fantastic game. I think they had eight or nine sacks that game, something like that, and State came out with a win."

Ken Tysiac