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Despite a highly productive career at Alcorn State, where he had 28 sacks in three years, the defensive line transfer underwhelmed in the spring.

“I don’t want to say he disappointed, but he wasn’t as flashy and as good as we thought, and I think he was thinking a lot,� said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

Bailey’s biggest hurdle upon arrival at Arizona was “just the coaching style,� he said.

“I wouldn’t say it was the competition or anything like that, it was just buying into what the coaches were teaching,� Bailey said. “(Also,) camaraderie with my teammates. I was at my HBCU for three years, built great relationships there and coming here, I met some great guys. ... That was a big transition.�

The transition from FCS to a Power 4 environment, coupled with moving from the southeast to the southwest, “there’s a little bit of shell shock,� said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan.

“It’s a totally new environment, totally different from where he’s from, he’s away from family and he’s on the other side of the country,� Brennan said.

However, whether you’re a player or a coach, college football is a bottom-line business. After Bailey didn’t meet expectations in the spring, Gonzales told him, “’Hey, you’re going to have to have a great fall camp to be able to earn the opportunities that you want,’� and gave the defensive lineman an option to either enter the transfer portal and leave Tucson for his final season or earn his keep at Arizona.

“’I’m being honest, you better have two mindsets: ‘No, I’m going to stay here and prove that you’re wrong and do everything right in fall camp and become a great player or find another spot.’ The second I said it, he was like, ‘I ain’t going anywhere, and you’re wrong.’ ‘Good for you, and I hope I am wrong.’

“In fall camp, he proved me wrong from the spring. One, good for him; two, it’s a benefit to our football team. He’s a really awesome kid. He’s not a kid, he’s a young man. He’s going to have a significant impact on our football team, which is awesome.�

The 6-2, 278-pound Bailey grew up in east Atlanta, graduated from Miller Grove High School and was a part of the 2020 recruiting cycle that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, “so there wasn’t a lot of roster spots available for guys that weren’t highly recruited like me.�

In the 2020 recruiting cycle, the state of Georgia produced four five-star prospects and 34 four-star prospects.

“There’s a lot of great talent on my side of town,� Bailey said. “It’s easy to get caught up in the hype. That could be a hindrance watching other people go in front of you and you’re getting left behind.�

Bailey wasn’t discouraged by his Georgia-area peers going to FBS schools while he was being overlooked. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

“Just run your own race,� Bailey said. “Nothing is guaranteed, even if you put all the work you can put in and do everything, it may not be guaranteed. Run your own race, be appreciative of what you get and what you have and show gratitude.�

Bailey started his college journey at Independence Community College in Kansas, a school featured on seasons 3 and 4 of “Last Chance U,� a docuseries on Netflix that highlights the struggles junior college football and basketball teams face. Bailey played at Independence two years after the Pirates’ last season on “Last Chance U.�

After Bailey transferred to Alcorn State, an HBCU in Mississippi, the defensive end totaled 128 tackles, 46.5 tackles for loss and 28 sacks. Bailey was named a First-Team All-SWAC selection following the 2023 and ’24 seasons.

“His godly numbers at Alcorn State make you excited,� Gonzales said. “It doesn’t matter what the competition is, when you have 28 sacks in that amount of time — you could be playing against air and it’s hard to get 28 sacks. The dude has a very unique set of skills.�

Bailey “does some things that are really hard to block,� Gonzales added.

“He has really quick twitch for being as big as he is,� said Gonzales. “He’s got a presence on the edge and he’s one of those guys that understands the entire scheme and what we’re doing.�

At Alcorn State, Bailey played against multiple FBS schools, including Vanderbilt, UAB, Southern Miss and Tulane.

“That’s what you want and everything you can ask for, is to showcase your talent on a big stage,� Bailey said.

Bailey sought the “big stage� every week for his final season of playing college football. Bailey said Tucson is “a beautiful place to be and a beautiful place to live, but what sold it was the coaches.�

“That’s what I tell everybody: it’s not about the buildings and the stuff that we have,� Bailey said. “It’s about the people in the building that make everything go and everything perfect. It was a perfect fit for me.�

Bailey will be on the other side of the FBS-versus-FCS battle on Saturday, when Arizona hosts Weber State — the first-ever matchup between the two programs. Bailey is one of 10 FCS players Arizona signed in the transfer portal this past offseason, along with starting defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight (UT Martin) and running back Quincy Craig (Portland State), who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ win over Hawaii last week.

“Kudos to all the FCS guys who do it, who put in work every day, every week,� Bailey said. “They lift like we do, they prepare how we prepare, they watch film like how we watch film, they put their pants on one leg at a time and they expect to win every game just like we expect to win every game. Kudos to those guys. We have a great opponent this week and we’re going to take them as serious as anybody else.�

Bailey looks to build on his Arizona debut, which included three tackles, three quarterback hits, a sack and a tackle for loss. Bailey and McKnight combined for a tackle for loss on a fourth-down stop in the third quarter against Hawaii.

Once a potential misevaluation by Arizona’s staff, Bailey has become a diamond in the rough and a mainstay in Arizona’s second-team defensive line rotation behind McKnight, defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea and defensive ends Tre Smith and Dominic Lolesio.

“It’s been amazing,� Bailey said. “Blessed through it all, I would say. It was never supposed to be me, quote-unquote. I grew up in Atlanta, I grew up with a lot of good athletes around and bad opportunities and things to get into trouble and things like that. But my perseverance, consistency and love for the game has brought me to where I am.

“It’s no surprise I’m where I’m at. If you look back and see, I’ve gotten better every year I play football. The proof is in the pudding with me.�