Arizona has landed its second commitment of the week as Red Oak, Texas linebacker Jackson Bailey gave the program his pledge Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-2 recruit picked the Wildcats over SMU but he also had offers from Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico and UTSA among others.
Bailey is the second recruit in UA's 2021 class as he joins Louisiana safety/linebacker Kolbe Cage who committed to the Wildcats earlier this week. The coronavirus pandemic has caused in-person recruiting to shut down but that has not stopped prospects from picking their future college programs.
Bailey built a strong enough relationship with Kevin Sumlin's coaching staff at Arizona to pull the trigger on a decision this spring.
"I was comfortable with the coaches, Bailey said. "They didn't second-guess my talent like most schools did. They really believed in me."
Arizona has focused most of its attention on Texas when it comes to recruiting, so the Wildcats being able to once again strike in the Lone Star State is not a big surprise. Bailey will help keep that trend moving forward after his decision to pick UA bringing another player from Texas to the Pac-12 Conference.
"I like the conference they play in," Bailey said, "and they were one of the only schools that had my major."
Arizona was one of the last Power Five programs without a commitment in the 2021 class until this week, and its progress on the field under Sumlin has been a slow transition. However, Bailey is confident the coaches will be able to get the program going in the right direction over the course of his career in Tucson.
"I think the future of this program is going to have a very talented group of guys, including myself," he said of the Wildcats. "Anybody who plays us is going to have to pay, because we're going to mean business every time we step foot on the field. We're all after the same goal."
Bailey could fit at a couple different positions at Arizona as the Wildcats make the transition to the 3-4 defense under new coordinator Paul Rhoads. The 220-pound recruit could fit in at linebacker or as an edge rusher when he gets to Arizona.
The HillTopics managing editor Damon Sayles contributed to this report.
