Arizona Football: Getting to know 2021 LB Jackson “Big Baby” Bailey

Arizona Football signed Jackson Bailey out of Red Oak, Texas, to play linebacker, and he’s got some legendary coaches to help take his game to the next level.

Arizona Football linebacker commit Jackson “Big Baby” Bailey is looking forward to coming to Tucson. He hails from Red Oak High School located in Red Oak, Texas just south of Dallas. He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 230 pounds and comes from a family of five: His mom Debbie, dad Byron, sister Taylor, and brother Kebron.

Bailey was offered by a number of big-time programs such as Kansas, SMU, Nevada, UTSA, UCONN, and Louisiana, but ultimately chose Arizona, and we sat down with JB to let him tell us more about his journey up to this point.

ZZ: You had quite a list of offers! Tell me why you selected UofA?

JB: I chose UofA because I saw that there was a chance for me to play as a freshman. I like how they have my major and that we have our own tutors to help keep us on track with work, and It’s always been my dream to play in the Pac-12.

Arizona Wildcats Football

ZZ: What’s your major going to be in college?

JB: I will major in Criminal Justice, I want to be in the FBI, DEA, or a Detective. (He aspires to play in the NFL but has a game plan for his career.)

ZZ: Do you know who your position coach will be? 

JB: I believe Coach Don Brown or Coach Keith Dudzinski is going to be my coach. I play “Sam LB.” And I’m very excited to see what these coaches bring to the table you know? The program needs a good change and I feel that they can do the job.

ZZ: Okay tell me a little about your mentality on and off the field.

JB: On the field during practice or a game, I like to talk trash because I know I can back it up and also because I know it betters the person in front of me, makes them work harder. I’m very competitive when it comes to the sport. I love the game, it helped get me to where I am now so I take it very seriously .

And off the field I’m pretty cool, stay away from trouble, stay to myself and I like to play the game on my downtime or hang out with friends.

ZZ: What have you learned from your high school coaches that will carry you into college?

JB: The biggest thing I learned from my coaches was to play through adversity. Not everything is going to go your way and sometimes you just have to deal with it “next play, next play, next play” no matter what happens!

ZZ: Tell me about your favorite Musical Artist? Best Friends? Do you have a talent outside of Football?

JB: My favorite artists is gonna be Lil Durk, Drake, G Herbo, and NoCap. My best friend is my girlfriend Amiya and my homeboys Darius, John, and Devin. They’re all fun to hang out with. And outside of football, I’m pretty good at track. I run the 4×1 and 4×2. I also can play the piano a little bit and I’m pretty good at writing essays.

ZZ: What are you looking forward to most when you get to school in Tucson? Outside of football and inside of football?

JB: Looking forward to learning the game more, becoming more tough mentally and physically, and possibly punching my ticket into the NFL. And outside of football looking forward to having a great time and getting my degree.

https://twitter.com/Jbfor6/status/1345446562542067713?s=20

Jacks mom had some insights into her son and what he’s about to help get to know him:

"Jack is a little on the conservative side, not too flashy, has a very strong personality but an introvert at the same time. Jack’s competitive nature and his willingness to learn has and will help him in his future endeavors.I am so excited to see Jack grow up and be able to play football at the University of Arizona college level. In his sophomore year, we had to make tough decisions on the right high school to ensure he would be able to transition into college. We decided that would be Red Oak High School where education would be a priority to him and especially to the teachers and football coaches.It all (education & football) came together and now here we are. I will definitely miss him but now it’s just time to plan my vacation time around his football games and UofA activities. Just looking forward to Jack doing great things."

Any message for Wildcats fans or anything I missed? “I just wanna let them know that I won’t let ’em down and that me and my teammates are coming to put on a show!” Well, Big Baby, we cannot wait!