2021 NFL Draft Prospect: JaQuan Bailey, DL, Iowa State University
I am from Florida and a few years ago I had the honor to watch JaQuan Bailey straight up dominate a high school football game and I knew he would be a beast. JaQuan played high school ball at Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida and this DUUUUUUVALLLL native is a player who will have NFL teams excited.
JaQuan and his twin brother chose Iowa State and JaQuan had some major schools after him. He racked up 89 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 14 sacks his senior year. Many websites had him rated as a 3 star recruit, but schools like Tennessee, and Florida wanted him bad. He chose the Cyclones and I am glad he did because I have been able to follow his career. He is a fun player with tons of upside.
He played quite a bit at Iowa State his true-freshman season. He was actually mentioned as a Freshman All-American and registered 23 tackles and led the team with 3.5 sacks.
He continued to wreak havoc in 2017. He started all 13 games and registered 34 tackles and once again led the team in sacks with 7. Bailey has a knack of getting after the quarterback and he would continue his dominance into 2018.
As a junior, Bailey finally deserved some recognition from the Big-12 when he walked away with Second Team All-Big 12 honors. He also made the Ted Hendricks Award Watch list. He started 13 more games and led the team in sacks once again. He finished the year with 46 tackles and led all defensive lineman for the Cyclones.
Last year, Bailey did suffer an injury, but he was able to secure a redshirt. He started the first four games of last year and had to snap his 37 consecutive start streak, which was heartbreaking, but this kid is going to come back pissed, and I am ready for it.
NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Notes:
JaQuan Bailey is a 6020, 260 pound pass rusher who has 37 career starts under his belt heading into his final year. He has also racked up 113 takcles, 18.5 sacks, 31.5 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles in his career. He is from Florida, which means he is a beast already (Sorry, I am a little bias), but he is a great player. He is a game changer and as a pass rusher and I would not be surprised if he continues his success in 2020. – Damond Talbot, Owner, NFL Draft Diamonds
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com