UCF wide receiver, All-Big 12 first team selection Javon Baker declares for 2024 NFL draft
UCF senior wide receiver Javon Baker, an All-Big 12 first team selection, declared Monday for the 2024 NFL draft.
Baker (6-foot-1, 208 pounds) led the league with 1,139 receiving yards and caught seven touchdowns. In two seasons as a Knight, arriving out of the transfer portal from Alabama, he recorded 108 catches for 1,935 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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"First, I'd like to give thanks to The Most High for blessing me with the ability to play for a school like UCF," Baker said in a statement posted to his Instagram account. "I would like to begin by saying thank you to the passionate UCF fans, Coach (Gus) Malzahn and all the coaches, along with the NIL team at The Kingdom for making the past two years unforgettable for my family and me.
"The Bounce House has some of the most devoted college football fans anywhere.
"After careful considerations and discussions, I have decided to enter the 2024 NFL draft and embark on the next phase of my journey.
"Thank you, Knight Nation."
Baker previously announced that he intended to return to UCF for the 2024 season, doing so about 90 minutes before kickoff in the team's eventual Gasparilla Bowl defeat to Georgia Tech. However, Rivals reported last week that he was still contemplating forgoing his final year of eligibility.
UCF has produced 12 drafted wide receivers in program history. Breshad Perriman (2015) is the lone first-rounder, and the list also includes Gabe Davis, Brandon Marshall and Shawn Jefferson, among others.
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Baker joins a list of departing UCF players hopeful to continue their football careers in the pros. Left tackle Tylan Grable accepted invitations to both the NFL scouting combine and the East-West Shrine Game, and both defensive end Tre'Mon Morris-Brash and linebacker Jason Johnson earned all-conference honors in the Knights' first season as Big 12 members.
Going forward, Baker's absence leaves a considerable hole to fill. However, Kobe Hudson and Xavier Townsend will be back, as will leading rusher RJ Harvey, and veteran Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson appears set to take over at quarterback after committing on New Year's Day.
Redshirt senior Trent Whittemore and redshirt freshman Tyree Patterson are the in-house candidates to take Baker's spot on the perimeter, and the Knights will bring in three true freshmen, headlined by Tampa Carrollwood Day's Bredell Richardson.
UCF will continue to aggressively pursue pass-catchers in the transfer portal, as well. Sanford native Goldie Lawrence, one of the Knights' top targets in the 2023 high school recruiting cycle, is set to transfer in from Florida State.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF football: All-Big 12 receiver Javon Baker declares for NFL draft
