Baker head coach Steve Normand was thrilled when baseball standout Bryce Cain decided to try football for the first time the spring before his junior year.

But even Normand didn’t know the potential Cain possessed.

“I had no clue he would be an SEC kid,” Normand said this week. “But you can’t coach speed. He’s that fast, and that’s what separates him from other guys.”

Normand has said Cain runs a legit 4.3 or 4.4.

Cain committed to Auburn in June and his continued improvement this season has helped Baker rise to No. 9 in the state in Class 7A and remain undefeated at 5-0. The Hornets host No. 7 Dothan on Friday in Mobile.

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“It’s a testament to him,” Normand said. “Bryce had to work hard to get to the point where he knew the offense and could play in the offense.”

Normand has joked repeatedly that Cain’s first days on the Baker football team weren’t pretty. Cain admits as much.

“I was pretty much catching balls with my head, dropping most passes, but I kept working and working to try to get to where I am now,” he said.

Baker dual-threat quarterback and Mississippi State commit Josh Flowers said Cain’s progress has been impressive.

“He’s way better,” Flowers said. “I don’t know if any second-year player has had the type of growth he has had from one year to the next. It’s been amazing.”

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Cain caught 26 passes for 497 yards and 5 TDs a year ago in his first year of football. Through five games in his senior year, he already has 21 receptions for 554 yards and 9 TDs.

“Coming in my junior year, I really never thought I would get to this point,” Cain said. “I worked my butt off to get here.”

Cain has worked himself into a 4-star receiver with college offers from around the nation. He’s ranked the 25th best senior prospect in the state according to 247 Sports. On3 has him ranked No. 11. Not bad for a “baseball player” who had never played football at any age two years ago.

“Coach Cal (Chase Calcagni), our offensive coordinator, called me off the basketball field and asked me if I wanted to play football,” Cain said. “I did, but the only thing was we had to bribe my mom into it. She didn’t want me to play football, but she finally let me.”

Seventeen months later, Cain now considers himself more of a football guy, than a baseball guy.

“I didn’t ever think that would happen,” he said.

Cain does plan to play his final year of baseball for the Hornets this spring before heading to Auburn.

“I feel really good about Auburn,” he said. “I think I’m 100 percent committed. The vibe there is just different. Everyone feels like family over there. I feel like the coaches can get me to the next level.”

Cain said he’ll play slot receiver for the Tigers.

“I think I’ll fit in really great with (Foley WR) Perry Thompson on one side, and we will have (Benjamin Russell ATH) Malcolm Simmons on the other side,” he said of two other in-state Auburn commits. “I think we’ll be pretty good.”

For now, all focus is on Baker football, however.

“I think we have the talent to win a state championship,” he said. “We have to keep working.”