Lackawanna OT one of the best
Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna College coach Mark Duda knows a thing or two about big-time offensive tackle prospects. Duda has coached some great tackles in his time there at the school – including Minnesota Viking standout Bryant McKinnie – and he said three-star offensive tackle Clarence Bailey is one of the best he's ever worked with.
"He's a great player," Duda said. "He's having a phenomenal year. He's a big kid that's super mobile. He's got unbelievable feet for a kid that size. He's a lot like Bryant in that he's a great pass protector and he has arms that hang down to his legs."
Advertisement
But Bailey wasn't all that when he arrived at Lackawanna.
"He came in here from Trenton, N.J., and was 350 pounds his redshirt season," Duda said. "He was basically just here going through the motions. Then he got to working with our offensive linemen – almost all of them are starting in the ACC now – and he started to figure out that he could be pretty good.
"Then he got to 330 pounds after his freshman season and he's not stopped working on getting better. He went through spring ball this year, and the light bulb clicked on. All of a sudden he said to himself: 'I can be real good.' "
Ole Miss and Eastern Michigan were the first to offer, and Oklahoma told Duda that an offer to Bailey is in the mail. It appears that Oklahoma will get an official visit from him on November 25. Kansas and Kansas State are also in on him, and Pittsburgh is expected to also offer shortly.
"He now realizes that he's the real McCoy," Duda said. "He listens now. He's good enough to start for people right away, and he's a December grad, so that makes him even more valuable.
"Everybody wants offensive tackles, and he's one of the hottest in the country. I'm getting 1,000 calls a day about him. He's not a pumped up little girl. He's a legit, long-armed guy that can move."
Rivals.com ranks Bailey as the No. 49 player in the junior college ranks, a deserving honor according to his coach.
"He's going to be something special," Duda said. "Count on it."