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Bailey is a dynamic player |
Bailey is a consensus 4 star dual threat quarterback from Bolingbrook, IL, the type of kid that all the recruiting services love. He had offers from major programs like Iowa, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nebraska (whom he ultimately chose Illinois over), among others. And that doesn't even count the schools that were recruiting him hard, but hadn't offered yet, because they weren't quite sure what position they would want him at. But there was no doubt for Beckman that Bailey was the key to the future at quarterback. He's Beckman's first major recruit out of the Chicagoland area, and first highly-ranked recruit as well. He's the type of kid that can help change the program. Take a quick look at his highlights and you'll see why:
And that's where I begin to make my RGIII comparison. Their recruiting profiles are strikingly similar. Both kids are around the same size, with Bailey being bigger physically than Griffin was at this stage in the game. Griffin, from Texas, wasn't as highly recruited though as Bailey for much the same reason Bailey doesn't have more offers than he should: coaches weren't sure what position they were going to put him. For instance, Griffin had scholarships waiting for him at several schools, but they wanted to move him to wide receiver. Eschewing that, he followed Art Briles from Houston to Baylor to play quarterback. And look how it paid off, as the Heisman winner shredded defenses last year at Baylor en route to the Heisman trophy and the second overall selection in the first round of the NFL Draft.
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Could Bailey be our RGIII? |
Bailey cites as one of his main reasons for heading to Illinois the challenge of changing the program. Before he even arrives, he is taking charge of his future and wanting to bring success back to his home state school. How is this not like Griffin? Griffin turned Baylor, a perennial last place team in the Big 12, into a team that dominated for stretches at a time last year. He simply made the program relevant again. Now, I know that it might be a bit much to compare a high school junior to the guy who just got selected second overall and won the Heisman, but really, if Bailey can come in, win games, and help make Illinois relevant again, couldn't he then be our RGIII? It's a lot to live up to, but it seems like a player like Bailey is up for the challenge. Let's hope it works out.
As for Beckman, this could be the push that his staff needed to enter the summer recruiting evaluation periods with some serious momentum. Beckman has spent a lot of time since he took over meeting high school coaches and getting his staff on the road, trying to inject Illinois' name into prospect's heads. And now, after yesterday, he has some really positive material to start using to try and reel kids in. Not only did Whitney Mercilus and AJ Jenkins get drafted int he first round last night, meaning that Illinois now has the most first round draft choices (5) of any school in the Big Ten over the last five years, but he received the commitment of one of the best quarterback prospects in the nation. Like Ron Zook's early years, when he received the commitment of Juice Williams, this could be the recruit that unleashes a wave of solid prospects who look at Illinois. If Beckman and his staff were successful pitching a renewal of the Illinois brand to Bailey, why couldn't it work for other top prospects? It's going to be an interesting next couple months, but I for one like where they're headed.
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