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David Bailey sat out the second half of all but one game during his senior season. He would score three or four touchdowns, engineer a sizable lead for his North Caroline High School team, and then head to the sidelines. By the time he made way for the backups, the game had usually switched to a running clock.

“With Dave it was one of those things that if you pulled him out of a game, he wouldn’t complain. He wouldn’t bitch about it,” North Caroline head coach James McCormick said. “He’d just stand on the sideline with the other guys and cheer them on.”

Through 11 games that year, Bailey rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 35 touchdowns. Last season at Boston College, he backed up current Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon, but since Dillon’s departure for the NFL, Bailey has assumed the starting role. Dillon mentored Bailey, teaching him to improve his focus and discipline. Now in his junior season, the running back leads the Eagles (4-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) in rushing touchdowns, net yards and yards per game heading into Saturday’s matchup with Syracuse.

In Ridgely, Maryland, a town of about 1,600 people, Bailey was one of few players that chose to play high school football at North Caroline, a public high school. Most others with the money or ability to do so often opted to attend private schools. Bailey’s father, David Bailey Sr., told his son the benefits from deciding to play for his hometown would affect more than just him.

“I told Dave that he’d be the one to make it from here,” Bailey Sr. said. “And once you make it from here it’ll be better for everybody, because you’re opening the doors for everyone around here.”

At North Caroline, Bailey played alongside Notre Dame defensive end Ja’Mion Franklin, and Wake Forest defensive lineman Kendron Wayman played there two years behind Bailey and Franklin.

Despite Bailey’s talent, McCormick said the running back never flaunted his ability, mostly keeping to himself and doing his talking on the gridiron. In Berlin, Maryland, Stephen Decatur High School starting linebacker approached the North Caroline sideline and started throwing insults Bailey’s way, McCormick said. Without even glancing at the linebacker, Bailey responded.

“I’m a grown ass man. He doesn’t want a piece of me.”

Bailey then scored five touchdowns on Stephen Decatur in the first half, including a pick-six as an outside linebacker. To Bailey Sr., that’s exactly the kind of person his son is. He was never one to verbalize his ange or get in fights when he was frustrated. Instead, he vented that frustration by proving to everyone around him that he was better.

“When he gets mad, he takes it on the field,” Bailey Sr. said. “He’s like ‘OK, I’m just going to be better.’ That’s his anger. If somebody challenges him on the field he doesn’t say much, he’d rather show you.”

When Bailey arrived to start his career at Boston College, he looked up to Dillon, a second round NFL draftee, as his mentor. Dillon showed Bailey how to prepare to become a professional player.

Two springs ago, McCormick traveled up to Boston to pay Bailey a visit during the week. After a practice and weight lifting session, Bailey and Dillon stayed behind the rest of the team to re-rack and clean the weight room, so the custodians wouldn’t have to. McCormick said nobody asked them to do it. They just did it.

“That’s kind of the thing — everyone talks about how good of a football player he is. He’s probably a better person,” McCormick said. “He’s an awesome, awesome young man.”

Since Dillon departed, Bailey became the Eagles’ top running back. With BC head coach Steve Addazio leaving for Colorado State, Bailey has been forced to adapt to a new playbook under former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

While McCormick knew Bailey was ready for the number one spot, he thinks the limited offseason prep due to COVID-19 and adjusting to a new playbook has stunted Bailey’s numbers this year. BC and Hafley are using quarterback Phil Jurkovec more frequently on offense.

In the Eagles 48-27 win over Georgia Tech this season, Bailey was only handed the ball 13 times, compared to last season’s 45-24 win against NC State, where Dillon got the ball 34 times and Bailey got 16 attempts. Despite the limited touches, and an offense that relies on RPOs, Bailey has still found offensive success.

“There isn’t even a comparison,” McCormick said of Bailey as a high school football player. “You can take these other kids and put David in a category by himself and forget about it, then argue about who’s second best. He’s that kind of ball player.”

Published on November 4, 2020 at 11:03 pm

Contact Will: wrhentsc@syr.edu