Fresno State Athletics
James Bailey: The Grind of a Bulldog
11/23/2018 10:00:00 AM | Football
Fresno State senior linebacker James Bailey will play his final home game as a Bulldog on Saturday afternoon against San Jose State.
The path to a Division I athletic scholarship is never easy. For some, it can be straight forward. Others are forced to take a different path. The latter happens to be the case for Fresno State senior outside linebacker James Bailey, whose story starts off the field with being adopted at just six-months-old.
"I faced a little bit of adversity," Bailey said. "I didn't know my birth parents at all. Being adopted with an all-white family, you just get different looks here and there. As I got older, I got used to it and stopped caring. I'm happy those are my parents, and they raised me to get to where I am now."
On top that, Bailey's family moved from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, when he was in the fifth grade. That move, however, would prove to be influential in Bailey's decision to focus on football.
"At first when I was growing up, I just played basketball," he said. "Then, I remember with Pop Warner, a guy just asked me to play football. I had never met him before, and I didn't really know what it was about. After I was introduced to it though, I loved it."Â
Along with his pure love of the game beginning to develop, Bailey also had outside aspirations driving him. The goal to help out his parents down the road was a big factor in his daily motivation.
"I remember when I was in middle school, I wrote down in the journals we had to do that I wanted to play college football so my parents wouldn't have to pay for college," the Fresno State senior recalled. "That was a big thing for me growing up. As soon as I got into it, I was all in."
Still, as with anyone who wasn't born in Texas regardless of their age, Bailey had to go through an adjustment period when it came to acclimating himself to the renowned football culture of Texas. That adjustment, however, would pay great dividends down the road.
"Football in Texas had a different style," Bailey said. "Pop Warner in Texas was different from Cincinnati because we didn't have a weight limit there. As I got older and into high school, they treated high school like it was everything. All you knew was high school football. You grew up in bigger stadiums. A town would be completely shut down for big time games, so it was really a great atmosphere."
In spite of any adversity Bailey faced on or off the field growing up, the fire that drives him each day was actually sparked at an early age by his mother.
"There was one time where I wasn't giving my best effort," he remembered. I'll never forget that my mom came up to me and said she wouldn't come to my games because I wasn't trying. I was telling her that I was, but she still thought I wasn't. After that, she stopped going to my games, so I knew she was serious. From then on out, I learned to always give my best because there's so much potential I think I have. My mom says you may not realize it, but if you just give it all no matter what, you'll see it work out in the end. Ever since that day when she told me, I've tried in everything."
As for having so much early success and getting regular playing time as a freshman, Bailey attributes much of that to his high school football experience.
"In high school, with how Coach [Hank] Carter ran football, he treated it like a college. The similarities between the practices, waking up early, being at meetings on time, lifting at a certain time and how to lift were very similar to here. He prepared us more because we'd be bigger, faster, stronger and maybe a little bit more intense. He got us to the point where we were ready to play. He wanted to make sure that if you wanted to play at the next level, he was going to get you ready for it. We were heavily critiqued over details when it came to taking our notes and how we watched film. Being around each other, it rubbed off on me the right way. When I came here, it just naturally flowed for me."
Bailey attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, which most recently produced the likes of reigning Heisman trophy winner and first pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Baker Mayfield, and holds a rivalry with a fellow football powerhouse just across town, Westlake High School, which has produced the rare talents like Super Bowl champion Nick Foles and NFL career passing record holder Drew Brees. Bailey actually played with Mayfield for two seasons and is proud to have never lost to Westlake during his high school playing career. As one might expect from a perennial starter at a prestigious high school as such, Bailey was widely recruited.
"I think was the spring of my junior year when I heard I might get recruited," Bailey said. "I think my first offer was from North Texas. When they told me the offer, it didn't click for me. I remember coming home, and my parents asked if I had anything to tell them. They asked if I got an offer, and it hit me. It didn't really register with me that I had been offered to go play college football already. It was just different. I remember my dad and I went to visit all the schools. We took a whole weekend one time, flying from Iowa State to New Mexico to Fresno, then driving to Reno. It was just a lot for a whole trip. It was exciting with a lot of stuff, but having my parents on the side and being there for me was big."
Despite numerous offers and a late push from former Lake Travis coach and then SMU coach Chad Morris, who is now the head coach for Arkansas, Bailey chose to attend Fresno State because of former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jordan Peterson's authenticity and persistence from the jump. As Bailey grew close to Peterson, that made matters difficult when a new coaching staff was brought in. Coach Tedford, however, reassured Bailey and provided him with a vision for success.
"It was really tough," said Bailey of the transition. "I didn't really know what to do. My freshman year, we went 3-9. My sophomore year, we went 1-11. I was sick of it. I told myself the day I stop having fun playing football, I want to quit. I just told Tedford that I didn't know if I was feeling it and kind of wanted to leave. He just asked me to give him a chance and trust him. He felt like he could get my love for the game back. I decided to stick it out through that spring ball. I trusted everyone and had my love for the game again. After that, going into that 2017 season, I felt that it could be different. With a new style, it gave us a chance to compete that first year. We showed a lot of people that he was being real with what he talked about."
Along with Tedford, defensive coordinator Bert Watts was intent on keeping Bailey around after seeing the potential impact he could make moving forward.
"James is one of the guys we watched on film as we got here when we were evaluating the whole team, and we knew that we had something that we could immediately put trust into as far as his ability to go out there and make plays," Watts said. "The more we got to know him, the more we started figuring out that it wasn't just his ability to make plays, but his ability to be a leader and hold the standards we were introducing as a new staff, and help lead everyone else in the right direction so that we could all achieve success."
Since arriving in the Valley, Bailey has been as steady of a presence as a coach can ask, earning significant playing time along with three starts as a true freshman and serving as a perennial starter since his sophomore year. Bailey attributes that consistency to his style of play.
"I'm just smart with what I do," he said. "I play aggressive, but not to the point that I'm out of control and could injure myself. There are people that just throw their bodies out on the line all the time, but you have to play smart and make the right decisions. Also, the little things help like going to treatment and asking the trainers what you need if your body is banged up. Then they just put you on the treatment list, and you go do it and get it all worked out. In the weight room too, you just have to be smart and not hurt yourself on or off the field."
With so much experience under his belt, Bailey has grown into one of the major leaders on the team.
"He's a leader on defense and for this team," said senior linebacker George Helmuth. "He has a vocal presence in the locker room, and he's a key piece to our success."
Bailey has not only proven himself to be a leader of the defense, but as a leader of the team. Senior tight end Kyle Riddering echoed Helmuth's sentiments.
"James is a leader for sure," Riddering said. He's a guy who brings it every day," said Riddering. "He's a guy that a lot of the young guys look up to and follow his lead. He knows what he's talking about, and a lot of these guys follow in his footsteps around the weight room, around the field and around the locker room as well."
As noted by Helmuth and Riddering, Bailey points to his experience on the field as the biggest factor in his ability to lead.
"I feel like I've seen a lot of stuff and played in a lot of defenses," he said. I've played in this defense for two years now, so I grasp the knowledge a little bit more. We might add a couple of things here and there that might be a little bit different, but at the end of the day, we're still playing football, so you just have to do
the things that make sense."
As for the future, Bailey is prepared to take a shot at every opportunity the NFL provides using his versatility as a player, but the Africana studies major still has detailed plans beyond the field.
"If I don't get the opportunity to play in the NFL, I won't be upset because I know I have a plan after that," Bailey said of life after football. "I'd like to either start as a GA so I can become a coach. If not that, I'd like to go to a high school and start an Africana studies history program and also work in high school coaching too. I just want to be around football still as much as I can be."
Regardless of the future, Bailey's story is a testament to the mindset that hard work always pays off. You have to do the little things because nothing is handed to you. It's not given to you. If there's any legacy the veteran linebacker wants to leave behind, it's that mindset, the one that drove him to his success.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateFB
Instagram:Â Fresno_State_Football
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
"I faced a little bit of adversity," Bailey said. "I didn't know my birth parents at all. Being adopted with an all-white family, you just get different looks here and there. As I got older, I got used to it and stopped caring. I'm happy those are my parents, and they raised me to get to where I am now."
On top that, Bailey's family moved from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, when he was in the fifth grade. That move, however, would prove to be influential in Bailey's decision to focus on football.
"At first when I was growing up, I just played basketball," he said. "Then, I remember with Pop Warner, a guy just asked me to play football. I had never met him before, and I didn't really know what it was about. After I was introduced to it though, I loved it."Â
Along with his pure love of the game beginning to develop, Bailey also had outside aspirations driving him. The goal to help out his parents down the road was a big factor in his daily motivation.
"I remember when I was in middle school, I wrote down in the journals we had to do that I wanted to play college football so my parents wouldn't have to pay for college," the Fresno State senior recalled. "That was a big thing for me growing up. As soon as I got into it, I was all in."
Still, as with anyone who wasn't born in Texas regardless of their age, Bailey had to go through an adjustment period when it came to acclimating himself to the renowned football culture of Texas. That adjustment, however, would pay great dividends down the road.
"Football in Texas had a different style," Bailey said. "Pop Warner in Texas was different from Cincinnati because we didn't have a weight limit there. As I got older and into high school, they treated high school like it was everything. All you knew was high school football. You grew up in bigger stadiums. A town would be completely shut down for big time games, so it was really a great atmosphere."
In spite of any adversity Bailey faced on or off the field growing up, the fire that drives him each day was actually sparked at an early age by his mother.
"There was one time where I wasn't giving my best effort," he remembered. I'll never forget that my mom came up to me and said she wouldn't come to my games because I wasn't trying. I was telling her that I was, but she still thought I wasn't. After that, she stopped going to my games, so I knew she was serious. From then on out, I learned to always give my best because there's so much potential I think I have. My mom says you may not realize it, but if you just give it all no matter what, you'll see it work out in the end. Ever since that day when she told me, I've tried in everything."
As for having so much early success and getting regular playing time as a freshman, Bailey attributes much of that to his high school football experience.
"In high school, with how Coach [Hank] Carter ran football, he treated it like a college. The similarities between the practices, waking up early, being at meetings on time, lifting at a certain time and how to lift were very similar to here. He prepared us more because we'd be bigger, faster, stronger and maybe a little bit more intense. He got us to the point where we were ready to play. He wanted to make sure that if you wanted to play at the next level, he was going to get you ready for it. We were heavily critiqued over details when it came to taking our notes and how we watched film. Being around each other, it rubbed off on me the right way. When I came here, it just naturally flowed for me."
Bailey attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, which most recently produced the likes of reigning Heisman trophy winner and first pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Baker Mayfield, and holds a rivalry with a fellow football powerhouse just across town, Westlake High School, which has produced the rare talents like Super Bowl champion Nick Foles and NFL career passing record holder Drew Brees. Bailey actually played with Mayfield for two seasons and is proud to have never lost to Westlake during his high school playing career. As one might expect from a perennial starter at a prestigious high school as such, Bailey was widely recruited.
"I think was the spring of my junior year when I heard I might get recruited," Bailey said. "I think my first offer was from North Texas. When they told me the offer, it didn't click for me. I remember coming home, and my parents asked if I had anything to tell them. They asked if I got an offer, and it hit me. It didn't really register with me that I had been offered to go play college football already. It was just different. I remember my dad and I went to visit all the schools. We took a whole weekend one time, flying from Iowa State to New Mexico to Fresno, then driving to Reno. It was just a lot for a whole trip. It was exciting with a lot of stuff, but having my parents on the side and being there for me was big."
Despite numerous offers and a late push from former Lake Travis coach and then SMU coach Chad Morris, who is now the head coach for Arkansas, Bailey chose to attend Fresno State because of former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jordan Peterson's authenticity and persistence from the jump. As Bailey grew close to Peterson, that made matters difficult when a new coaching staff was brought in. Coach Tedford, however, reassured Bailey and provided him with a vision for success.
"It was really tough," said Bailey of the transition. "I didn't really know what to do. My freshman year, we went 3-9. My sophomore year, we went 1-11. I was sick of it. I told myself the day I stop having fun playing football, I want to quit. I just told Tedford that I didn't know if I was feeling it and kind of wanted to leave. He just asked me to give him a chance and trust him. He felt like he could get my love for the game back. I decided to stick it out through that spring ball. I trusted everyone and had my love for the game again. After that, going into that 2017 season, I felt that it could be different. With a new style, it gave us a chance to compete that first year. We showed a lot of people that he was being real with what he talked about."
Along with Tedford, defensive coordinator Bert Watts was intent on keeping Bailey around after seeing the potential impact he could make moving forward.
"James is one of the guys we watched on film as we got here when we were evaluating the whole team, and we knew that we had something that we could immediately put trust into as far as his ability to go out there and make plays," Watts said. "The more we got to know him, the more we started figuring out that it wasn't just his ability to make plays, but his ability to be a leader and hold the standards we were introducing as a new staff, and help lead everyone else in the right direction so that we could all achieve success."
Since arriving in the Valley, Bailey has been as steady of a presence as a coach can ask, earning significant playing time along with three starts as a true freshman and serving as a perennial starter since his sophomore year. Bailey attributes that consistency to his style of play.
"I'm just smart with what I do," he said. "I play aggressive, but not to the point that I'm out of control and could injure myself. There are people that just throw their bodies out on the line all the time, but you have to play smart and make the right decisions. Also, the little things help like going to treatment and asking the trainers what you need if your body is banged up. Then they just put you on the treatment list, and you go do it and get it all worked out. In the weight room too, you just have to be smart and not hurt yourself on or off the field."
With so much experience under his belt, Bailey has grown into one of the major leaders on the team.
"He's a leader on defense and for this team," said senior linebacker George Helmuth. "He has a vocal presence in the locker room, and he's a key piece to our success."
Bailey has not only proven himself to be a leader of the defense, but as a leader of the team. Senior tight end Kyle Riddering echoed Helmuth's sentiments.
"James is a leader for sure," Riddering said. He's a guy who brings it every day," said Riddering. "He's a guy that a lot of the young guys look up to and follow his lead. He knows what he's talking about, and a lot of these guys follow in his footsteps around the weight room, around the field and around the locker room as well."
As noted by Helmuth and Riddering, Bailey points to his experience on the field as the biggest factor in his ability to lead.
"I feel like I've seen a lot of stuff and played in a lot of defenses," he said. I've played in this defense for two years now, so I grasp the knowledge a little bit more. We might add a couple of things here and there that might be a little bit different, but at the end of the day, we're still playing football, so you just have to do
the things that make sense."
As for the future, Bailey is prepared to take a shot at every opportunity the NFL provides using his versatility as a player, but the Africana studies major still has detailed plans beyond the field.
"If I don't get the opportunity to play in the NFL, I won't be upset because I know I have a plan after that," Bailey said of life after football. "I'd like to either start as a GA so I can become a coach. If not that, I'd like to go to a high school and start an Africana studies history program and also work in high school coaching too. I just want to be around football still as much as I can be."
Regardless of the future, Bailey's story is a testament to the mindset that hard work always pays off. You have to do the little things because nothing is handed to you. It's not given to you. If there's any legacy the veteran linebacker wants to leave behind, it's that mindset, the one that drove him to his success.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateFB
Instagram:Â Fresno_State_Football
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
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