David Bailey talks Texas Tech success, NFL Combine
Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey is one of the top prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. Bailey is currently in Indiana for the NFL Combine, interviewing with teams and going through the skillset challenges. The Red Raider star is projected to be the third overall pick in the NFL Draft according to Mel Kiper Jr‘s most recent mock draft.
Yesterday, Bailey joined the NFL on NBC to break down his draft training, his success at Texas Tech and more.
Being at the Combine/NFL Draft
It is every football players dream to make the NFL. David Bailey is no different as he prepares for the Draft this week in Indianapolis.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s surreal, man. I mean, main thing is I just want to sit back and take it all in, you know, enjoy the process. I got a couple of my boys here, you know, we’re having a lot of fun with this.”
Meeting Coaches
Bailey gave some insight into how it is going into these meetings with big time NFL coaches, and their perspectives on his skillset/character.
“Yeah, it was a little bit stressful, I’m not going to lie. But honestly, even like the formal meetings, you hear the word formal, you’re a little bit like on edge. But you get in there, man, and some of them, like a lot of them are extremely chill, super personal questions, sometimes just talking a little bit more ball. Sometimes they’re not talking at all about ball. They just want to know about you, your family life, so it’s been good.”
These coaches come into these meetings knowing a lot about the prospect they are interviewing, while the player doesn’t have much knowledge about the coach personally. The Red Raider EDGE talked a little bit about how he has handled those meetings.
“Yeah, I mean, just being honest, just being myself. I’m not trying to formulate some kind of super technical answer. I’m just being myself out there. Whatever they want to know, I’m telling them.”
Being Smart
David Bailey transferred into Texas Tech from Stanford, and has a reputation for being excellent academically. Although, he has not always had been the greatest in school.
“Yeah. I mean, my mom has stressed school since I was a kid. Honestly, if you look at my report card from elementary school, it’s terrible. You never would have thought that I was going to Stanford. I kind of just turned it on the freshman year or eighth grade. And it kind of just carried over throughout high school.”
Success at Tech
Going from 14.5 sacks in three years with the Cardinals to reaching that same mark in the 806 in just one year is no easy accomplishment. Bailey believes the success came from a combination of Coach Joey McGuire, Coach Ah You, and his interior defensive line.
“I think it comes down to also just a different scheme, first of all. If I’m playing off the ball linebacker, obviously I’m not going to be able to get after the quarterback as much. So, that’s one thing. But also like I said, being more mature in terms of approaching the game. Coach Ah You was obviously a big part of that success. Coach McGuire was a big part of that success, and then also my D-line.”
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