He was a football star at Paso Robles High. Now, he’s playing on national TV
Bailey Gaither was known for his blazing speed at Paso Robles High School, often leaving defenders in the dust on long kickoff returns and over-the-shoulder touchdown catches.
After a winding yet rewarding college career at San Jose State, Gaither is now in his senior season, with his sights on his next big game in an undefeated season.
And he’s still burning defenders for big yards downfield.
The 6-foot-1, 182-pound receiver, The Tribune’s SLO County Player of the Year in 2015, will appear on national television on Saturday as the Spartans (6-0) face off against Boise State (5-1) for the Mountain West Conference championship.
The game begins at 1:15 p.m. in Las Vegas and will be televised on Fox.
Gaither is coming off a 156-yard reception performance against University of Nevada on Dec. 12, in which he hauled in seven passes as part of a 30-20 win. The Spartans are now the 25th-ranked team in the country.
In an interview Monday as part of a media Zoom pool, including The Tribune, Gaither said he was proud to represent San Luis Obispo County on a big stage.
“It has been an honor just understanding you don’t have as much recognition, or not as much publicity as people from NorCal and SoCal schools,” Gaither said.
Gaither and other Central Coast stars over the past few years — including his former Bearcat teammate Josh Oliver (a San Jose State player who’s now in the NFL with Jacksonville) — have opened the eyes of Spartans coaches, he said.
Assani Berkeley, who’s currently in his senior season at Mission Prep as a wide receiver, also has committed to San Jose State.
“I think it’s really interesting when kids from an area that doesn’t get as much exposure get an opportunity to go play football at the D1 level,” Gaither said. “I think it’s exciting for the Central Coast.”
Injury derailed San Jose State, Paso Robles High receiver
After a strong start through four games to his 2018 season as a redshirt sophomore, Gaither tore his Achilles against Hawaii, the fifth game on the schedule. The injury required seven months of rehab.
During a grueling seven-month recovery process, Gaither went through rigorous workouts to regain motion and flexibility, according to The Spear, a university news outlet.
But he played in all 12 games as a junior in 2019, earning honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference honors and posting career bests of 52 receptions for 812 yards and six touchdowns.
This year, in only six games due to a shortened 2020 season impacted by the pandemic, he has tallied 36 catches for 627 yards and four touchdowns.
“Coming back from an Achilles injury, there’s no guarantees,” Gaither said. “I remember everybody was telling me that you’re never going to be the same again. And I could have taken that and just folded. But I took that and I felt like I had a lot to prove. I got over trying to prove it to everybody else. I’m just trying to prove it to myself now.”
Gaither said he had to learn to mature mentally, gain patience and understand that “life’s not fair sometimes.”
Gaither’s focus, he said, is on finishing this season to help the Spartans continue their successful campaign. But once he’s finished, he’ll explore continuing his football career, acknowledging that he’s hopeful to get a chance in the NFL.
A NFL scouting site cites Gaither’s low 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash, putting him in range of professionals at his position.
“Right now, it’s just important to live in the moment and live in the now, focusing on the task at hand on Saturday,” Gaither said. “When the season’s done, I’ll figure everything out.”
Besides Oliver, another local high school star, Mission Prep’s Patrick Laird, is getting playing time at running back with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have posted an 8-5 record.
Laird has rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries and caught eight passes for 56 yards in his second season.
Learning to adjust to Division 1 football
After posting gaudy numbers at Paso Robles — 73 receptions for 1,480 yards and 30 total touchdowns — Gaither recalls some of the adjustments he has made learning to play at the Division 1 level of college football.
He had to understand he wasn’t always the best player on the field, with bigger, stronger athletes surrounding him, and to learn the game as best he could.
“It’s important to look at it as it’s just football and diagnose it,” Gaither said. “It’s important to be around good people who genuinely want to see you succeed and try and work hard. There’s always going to be a learning curve. In high school, you have all your best friends running around on the field.”
Gaither added: “You crank it up to the next level and you have the best kids in their high school coming to college. .... It’s important to be the best version of yourself every day.”
During that process, winning didn’t come easily. The San Jose State team was 2-11 in 2017 and 1-11 in 2018, before improving to 5-7 last season, and posting a perfect 6-0 mark so far this season.
“I’m just truly honored and truly blessed,” Gaither said. “I’m just so thankful for this opportunity.”
Former Paso Robles coach weighs in
Mark Gray, a former Paso Robles High assistant coach, said that Gaither’s speed, concentration and hand-eye coordination are what stand out to him.
“He understands the game and coverages,” Gray said. “He definitely has that extra gear and speed element. It’s deceptive in a way, but it’s there. Besides his speed, he has great hands.”
Gray recalls Gaither served as receiver, kick returner, safety and long snapper in high school — even filling in at tailback in the 2014 CIF Northern Division championship.
“It was a wet day, a mud bowl, and we figured we had to get him the ball, and put him in at tailback,” Gray said. “Since I’ve been around him, going back to when I coached him in youth football, he was always the best athlete on the field. Bailey takes that and he’s very humble. He doesn’t talk a lot of trash about how good he is. He let’s his play do the talking.”
Gray said Gaither’s skill set of speed, catching ability and football smarts will give him an opportunity to play in the NFL.
“I am happy for him and his success and the team’s winning season,” Gray said. “He has persevered through the Achilles injury and some other injury knocks, and he’s really gotten bigger, faster, stronger. He is seeing the benefits of his work ethic.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)