2022 LSU Quarterback Target Tanner Bailey Has Tigers Firmly at the Top of His List

While most people measure athleticism by 40-yard dash times and verticals, 2022 quarterback recruit Tanner Bailey sees being an athlete in a totally different light. As a four sport athlete, Bailey is a scratch golfer, starting point guard, bats in the three hole for his baseball team and is the starting quarterback on the football team.

"All of that competitiveness and all of that ball in all of those sports helps me be the athlete I want to be on the football field," Bailey said.

Holding 10 Division I offers at this time, the rising junior out of Gordo, Alabama is still in the early stage of his recruitment process. Bailey recently picked up an offer from Georgia and has been in communication with LSU and Michigan as well.

He's hoping to take as many unofficial visits to LSU as possible when the recruiting dead period opens back up but will also want to visit Auburn, Alabama, Michigan and Clemson.

"I love it down there," Bailey said about LSU. "I'm going to be at LSU for a game for sure this year and then if there are any camps as well, that'll probably be my schedule. I went to the LSU-Florida game last year and that was just an amazing experience.

"That was the coolest game I've been to so far because I saw that as kind of the turning point for their season. Obviously they went undefeated but I think that was the point when everybody started to really catch on to that offense and Joe Burrow. That was a sight to see."

On past visits to the school, Bailey can recall sitting in on a number of player panels, including one hosted by now sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

"He said something about running through a brick wall for Coach O and you don't say something like that unless you really mean it," Bailey said. "That really caught my attention and all of the players talked about how fired up he gets you before a game. I think it'd be really fun to play for him."

His main source of contact with the Tigers staff has been through analyst Russ Callaway, who was hired in early February after the departure of Jorge Munoz. In addition to Callaway, Bailey has had conversations with coach Ed Orgeron and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger as well.

"They've been talking a little bit of ball and asking about my family but mainly they want to know what I've been doing to stay sharp during this quarantine," Bailey said. "They want me to come up there as soon as all of this blows over but they like my poise, pocket presence and my mechanics."

There are some areas that the LSU staff does want to see Bailey to continue to progress in, the most important being strength. Currently standing at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Bailey wants to get quite a bit bigger before his junior season but considers his accuracy and quick release as his two greatest qualities at this point in time.

"Throwing wise, it's not things that I need to completely get better at but rather need to improve on whether it's continuing to be more comfortable in the pocket or touch up on some mechanics," Bailey said. "I do think they're pretty impressed with where I'm at but it's all about showing that improvement year to year."

Bailey said LSU is firmly among his favorites right now and thinks the possibility to play in front of the Tiger faithful, despite growing up in Alabama, would be an amazing opportunity.

"It'd be awesome, I know that they're going to be in the top choices of my schools," Bailey said. "It would just really be cool, especially in that atmosphere, that fan base and surrounded in that tradition, it'd just be really awesome."