Early Signing Period: Wesley Bailey Signs With Rutgers Football

Defensive end is a position Rutgers Football has plenty of able bodies, and therefore it was not a priority for Greg Schiano in his two weeks on the job before the early signing period began. That said, he recognized that Rutgers lacks a true explosive pass rusher and put the feelers out to a number of players with the goal of landing just one or two of them with limited scholarships available. On the final day of the early signing period, Rutgers landed Wesley Bailey, a Canadian who plays his high school ball down in Florida:

Bailey played mostly right defensive end in high school, attacking quarterbacks with good agility and burst on their blind side. He shows a few different pass rush moves, preferring to win around the outside, though showing effectiveness with a quick rip move to the inside as a counter or well timed stunts. He’s also comfortable engaging with a blocker in run support and disengaging to make a play. At times he can get caught peeking (which does help him knock down a lot of passes) to much into the backfield, Big Ten linemen will punish him if he doesn’t focus enough on his one on one battle. He’s a little undersized so could be at risk for getting pushed backward if his technique breaks down on a play. Bailey has a great motor to keep running and fighting to the whistle no matter how far downfield the ball goes. He was most heavily recruited by Illinois and also Minnesota where his primary recruiter was you guessed it, Jim Panagos.

High School Position: DE (6’5”, 225 lbs.)

Projected college position: 7-technique (the jack position)

High School: Clearwater Academy International

Hometown: Orleans, ON

Most notable other offers: Washington State, West Virginia

Bailey arrives at Rutgers to a defensive line group that loses team MVP Willington Previlon and was a patchwork operation as it was to steal snaps on the interior line from players who were better suited to play defensive end. Rutgers needs to add as many three-star talents as possible and hope a few transform themselves into true disruptors. The ends are average, but Rutgers lacks a true explosive pass rusher.

Floor: Sorie Bayoh

Most likely: Gary Watts

Potential: George Johnson

Check out his highlights below:

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