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Jersey Number 31
David Bailey
- Position:
- Outside Linebacker
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 250
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Irvine, Calif.
- High School:
- Mater Dei
CAREER HONORS
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
PERSONAL
- AP All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- USA TODAY Sports CFB All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- FWAA All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- AFCA All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Sporting News All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Sports Illustrated All-American: First Team (2025, Sr.)
- On3 All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- The Athletic All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- CBS Sports College Football All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- PFF All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- PFF All-Big 12 Team (2025, Sr.)
- Pony Express Award Winner w/ Jacob Rodriguez (2025, Sr.)
- DCTF All-Texas College First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Panini Senior Bowl Game Invitee (2025, Sr.)
- Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year (2025, Sr.)
- Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year (2025, Sr.)
- All-Big 12 First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Lombardi Award™ Finalist (2025, Sr.)
- Bednarik Award Semifinalist (2025, Sr.)
- PFF National Team of the Week, EDGE - Nov. 10 (2025, Sr.)
- Lombardi Award™ Semifinalist (2025, Sr.)
- The Athletic Midseason All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- Sporting Illustrated Midseason All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- Lombardi Award™ Midseason Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- Midseason DCTF Defensive Player of the Year (2025, Sr.)
- First-Team Midseason DCTF All-Texas CFB Team (2025, Sr.)
- CBS Sports Midseason All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- PFF Pass Rusher of the Week - Oct. 13 (2025, Sr.)
- PFF Defensive Player of the Week - Oct. 13 (2025, Sr.)
- PFF National Team of the Week, EDGE - Oct. 13 (2025, Sr.)
- Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week - Oct. 13 (2025, Sr.)
- Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 (2025, Sr.)
- Lombardi Award Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- Bednarik Award Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- PFF Preseason All-Big 12 Team (2025, Sr.)
- Bruce Feldman’s College Football Freaks List (No. 43) (2025, Sr.)
- Shrine Bowl 1000 (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason DCTF All-Texas College second team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Phil Steele All-Big 12 first team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Athlon All-Big 12 first team (2025, Sr.)
- Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- All-Big 12 Preseason Team (2025, Sr.)
- ACC Linebacker of the Week (Sept. 23, 2024, Jr.)
- 2024 All-ACC Academic Team selection (2024, Jr.)
- Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week (Sept. 5, 2023, So.)
- True Freshman All-America selection by 247Sports (2022, Fr.)
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
- Quickly became a household name for Texas Tech fans in his lone season as a Red Raider … ranked as one of the nation’s top defensive players en route to leading the Red Raiders to a historic season … will go down as one of the top defensive players - especially at defensive end/outside linebacker - in school history despite only one season as a Red Raider.
- Appeared in all 14 games for the Red Raiders with 13 starts … saved his best season for his time as a Red Raider, finishing with 52 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks, all career bests … contributed to Texas Tech’s FBS-leading 32 takeaways with three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery … all three of his forced fumbles were the result of sacks … officially credited with 13 quarterback hurries on the season as well as three pass breakups.
- Already one of the nation’s top pass rushers prior to arriving at Texas Tech but still managed to match his three-year total at Stanford with 14.5 sacks … his 19.5 tackles for loss marked the first time to reach double digits in his illustrious career and were the second-highest total for a Red Raider since 2005, trailing only Jordyn Brooks’ 20.0 from the 2019 campaign … became the first Big 12 player to record at least 14.0 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss in the same season since a fellow Red Raider in Brandon Sharpe did so in 2009.
- Recorded at least a share of a sack in 11 of 14 games overall and had a tackle for loss in all but one game (at West Virginia) … finished with multiple tackles overall in 12 games, reaching at least four or more stops in seven different contests … disruptive in key games with 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in the five games Texas Tech played against teams that ended the year ranked in the top 25 .. his 8.5 tackles for loss in those games were tied with Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. for the most in the FBS.
- Ended the season as the nation’s highest-graded defensive player by Pro Football Focus, finishing with a 93.3 overall grade … one of three Red Raiders to rank in the top-five nationally, joining Jacob Rodriguez (93.0) and fellow edge rusher Romello Height (92.5) … publication awarded him the second-highest pass rush grade (93.8) in the country behind only Clemson’s Avieon Terrell (94.1).
- Recorded 623 defensive snaps on the season, according to Pro Football Focus, the seventh-highest total on the team and the most for any front-four players … credited with 81 total pressures by PFF, the second-highest total in the FBS behind only Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. (83), who played in 16 total games as opposed to his 14 … developed into a complete pass rusher and potential top-10 pick as a Red Raider as his 81 total pressures were 10 less than his career total entering the season.
- ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITIONS: was a unanimous first team All-America selection by all five NCAA-recognized organizations in the Associated Press, USA Today, FWAA, AFCA and Sporting News … joined with teammate Jacob Rodriguez to become the seventh and eighth unanimous first team All-Americans in program history and the first since tight end Jace Amaro in 2013 … was the first defensive lineman or outside linebacker to be named a unanimous All-American in program history … garnered first team All-America recognition from several other organizations as well, including Sports Illustrated, On3, The Athletic, CBS Sports and Pro Football Focus.
- AWARDS AND HONORS: tabbed the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year by the conference coaches … became the first Red Raider to be named the conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Year in school history and only the second to be recognized as the league’s top defensive newcomer, joining McKinner Dixon in 2008 … was the only unanimous All-Big 12 first team honoree by the league coaches … collected All-Big 12 first team accolades by the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus as well … named a finalist for the Lombardi Award, which is presented to the nation’s top lineman or linebacker, giving Texas Tech two of the four finalists with Jacob Rodriguez being the other … a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, presented to the nation’s top defensive player … combined with Rodriguez to win the Pony Express Award, which is presented to college football’s most-outstanding duo, regardless of position … selected to the All-Texas first team compiled by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (DCTF) … named to the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week twice - on Oct. 13 following a win over Kansas and again on Nov. 10 after victory over BYU … was the publication’s National Defensive Player of the Week and Pass Rusher of the Week for his efforts against Kansas … garnered Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week following the Kansas victory as well … preseason candidate for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and a member of the Shrine Bowl 1,000 list.
- IN THE TEXAS TECH RECORD BOOK: finished a half-sack shy of matching the Texas Tech single-season record, ranking second all-time in program history behind Brandon Sharpe’s 15.0 from 2009 … easily snapped the single-season record for tackle for loss yards after his 19.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage resulted in 142 yards lost for opponents … broke the previous school record of 123 yards that was set by Adell Duckett in 2003 and Brandon Williams in 2008 … joined with Romello Height to become the first Texas Tech teammates to each record 10.0 or more sacks in a season in school history. … part of a Texas Tech defense that set the single-season team record with 41.0 total sacks.
- IN BIG 12 RECORD BOOK: among the top players in reaching the quarterback in league history, ranking third all-time in the Big 12 single-season record book for sacks … his 14.5 sacks finished tied for third with Texas A&M’s Keith Mitchell (1996) and Kansas’ Ron Warner (1997) … the top-two sack totals in Big 12 history both came from the 2009 season with Texas A&M’s Von Miller notching 17.0 and Texas Tech’s Brandon Sharpe finishing with 15.0 of his own.
- IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: shared the FBS high with his 14.5 sacks, finishing tied with Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker … sack total resulted in 133 yards lost for the opposition, easily the most in the country … was third in the FBS for sacks per game (1.04) and ninth for tackles for loss a contest (1.39) … his 19.5 tackles for loss were the second-highest total in the FBS behind only Tucker’s 21.0 with Western Michigan.
- IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS: was the conference leader for both total sacks and tackles for loss, becoming the third Red Raider in school history to lead the league in both categories, joining Adell Duckett (2003) and Aaron Hunt (2001) … was the first Red Raider to lead the Big 12 in sacks since Pete Robertson had 12.0 during the 2014 campaign … became the second Red Raider to lead the league in tackles for loss under Joey McGuire, joining Tyree Wilson, who did so in his first season in 2022.
- SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
- Combined for five tackles during non-conference play with two stops each in wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/30) and Oregon State (9/6) … lone tackle in the win over Kent State (9/6) went for a sack, pushing the Golden Flashes back seven yards … had at least a share of a sack in all three wins, with a shared sack versus Pine Bluff and a solo sack against the Beavers … credited with a season-high four quarterback hurries in the win over Oregon State … combined for only 82 defensive snaps over those three games due to Texas Tech enjoying large leads at the half of each win.
- Opened Big 12 play with three tackles, including a key sack in the win at Utah (9/20) … sack came on 3rd-and-8 play late in the fourth quarter, pushing the Utes back 10 yards to set up a Jacob Rodriguez game-sealing interception a down later … was his fourth of eight-consecutive games to start the season with a sack and the first of four to begin Big 12 play.
- Dominant two weeks later at Houston with four tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks … first of his two solo sacks stripped the ball loose of Houston quarterback Conner Weigman on third down, forcing a 3-and-out early in the second quarter … the Cougars punted following his other sack in the third quarter, which resulted in a 3-and-out drive … credited with three quarterback hurries in the official stats, including one that blew up a fourth-down attempt midway through the second quarter … Pro Football Focus listed him with 12 total pressures in the win and a 93.8 overall grade, both season highs.
- The Houston win kicked off three-consecutive weeks with 3.0 tackles for loss, bolstering his case as one of the nation’s top pass rushers … had six tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss in the win over Kansas (10/11), all sacks … four of his six tackles versus the Jayhawks were sacks after combining with Romello Height for the first one to disrupt a 3rd-and-11 attempt by the Jayhawks to start the game … recovered a fumble on Kansas’ next offensive play, giving the Red Raiders the ball in plus territory to take an early 15-0 lead … stripped Kansas quarter Jalon Daniels on a sack midway through the third quarter, pushing the Jayhawks back 15 yards on first down to force a quick punt … found Daniels again with Height in the fourth quarter to stop a potential Kansas drive near midfield with the Red Raiders enjoying a 35-17 lead … named the National Defensive Player of the Week and Pass Rusher of the Week by Pro Football Focus after the win as well as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.
- Made his presence known early in Texas Tech’s lone regular-season loss at Arizona State (10/18), finishing with five tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks … both sacks came on back-to-back plays on Arizona State’s second drive of the game, negating good field position for the Sun Devils, who started at their own 48 after a 31-yard punt return.
- Ended his eight-game streak with a sack in the shutout win over Oklahoma State (10/25), finishing with three tackles, including a shared stop for a loss … followed with one tackle - a sack - a week later in the win at Kansas State (11/1) … sack sent the Red Raiders to the two-minute timeout before halftime, eventually giving the Red Raiders the ball near midfield for a Stone Harrington 55-yard field goal as time expired for a 12-7 lead at the break.
- Recorded four tackles, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup that halted BYU’s opening drive of the game … later stuffed BYU running back LJ Martin for a one-yard loss on third down early in the second quarter, forcing a failed field goal attempt … the Red Raiders followed with a successful field goal of their own the following drive to take a 13-0 lead in the highly-anticipated matchup of the top-two teams in the league.
- Totaled seven tackles over the final two games of the regular season with three stops in the Senior Day win over UCF (11/15) and then four in the regular-season finale at West Virginia (11/29) … sacked UCF quarterback Tayven Jackson for a seven-yard loss on fourth down midway through the second quarter, giving the Red Raiders the ball back in plus territory to score five plays later for a 28-2 lead … the shutout win over the Mountaineers, meanwhile, marked his lone game of the year without a tackle for loss after leaving before halftime with an injury.
- Returned a week later for the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship, totaling five tackles, a 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, quarterback hurry and a forced fumble in the win over BYU (12/6) … quarterback hurry alongside Romello Height thwarted a BYU third-down attempt on its opening drive of the third quarter, resulting in a missed 46-yard field goal attempt … later got home to quarterback Bear Bachmeier for a seven-yard sack and forced fumble on BYU’s final drive of the game in the fourth quarter, helping seal Texas Tech’s first big 12 title in school history.
- Put on a defensive display in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss at the Capital One Orange Bowl versus Oregon (1/1) … finished with a season-high nine tackles versus the Ducks, including 2.0 for a loss and a sack … found Oregon quarterback Dante Moore on the game’s opening drive, forcing the Ducks to a field goal for an early 3-0 lead … broke up two of Moore’s passes near the line of scrimmage, with one stopping the Ducks on fourth down at the 2-yard line during the second quarter … paired with Jacob Rodriguez to stuff Oregon on fourth down again to start the third quarter, negating a long punt return that set the Ducks up in plus territory.
- POSTSEASON ALL-STAR GAMES: received an invitation to play in the Panini Senior Bowl Game (did not play in game).
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Arrived at Texas Tech as one of the nation’s top prospects out of the transfer portal … will play his final season of eligibility with the Red Raiders following three seasons at Stanford … appeared in 33 games over his college career with 16 starts.
- Among the most disruptive edge players in college football with 22.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks during his three seasons at Stanford … finished with 111 tackles (73 solo) over those three seasons to go along with seven forced fumbles and a pass breakup … will enter his final collegiate season tied for second among active FBS players with seven career forced fumbles … tied with the likes of Mikail Kamara of Indiana and Harold Perkins Jr. of LSU, trailing only Red Murdock of Buffalo, who has 11 career forced fumbles.
- Ranked as the highest-rated returning edge player in college football upon signing with the Red Raiders by Pro Football Focus … credited with playing in 1,142 defensive snaps over his three seasons with the Cardinals where he created 91 total pressures (15 sacks, 11 quarterback hits and 65 hurries) … received a 90.9 overall defensive grade by the publication as a junior, which was sixth nationally among edge players and leads all returners for the 2025 season … graded slightly behind Penn State’s Abdul Carter, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
- 2024 SEASON (JUNIOR at STANFORD): recorded 31 tackles (22 solo) over his 12 games played as a junior, including two starts … led the Cardinal in tackles for loss (8.0), quarterback hurries (8), sacks (7.0) and forced fumbles (5).
- Ranked fourth in the FBS for forced fumbles as it marked the most by a Stanford player in a season since Chase Thomas had six in 2011 … his 7.0 sacks, meanwhile, were the most by a Cardinal in a single season since Casey Toohill had 8.0 in 2019.
- Credited with 39 total pressures over his 364 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus … received a 93.2 grade as a pass rusher by the publication, which led all FBS players.
- Recorded multiple stops in eight of the nine games he had a tackle … put together two multi-sack games on the season, finding the quarterback twice at Syracuse (9/20) and at N.C. State (11/2) … became the first Cardinal with a pair of two-sack games in the same season since James Vaughters in 2014 … recognized as the ACC Linebacker of the Week following Stanford’s win over Syracuse … forced two fumbles against N.C. State as part of a five-tackle performance in the losing effort … tied his season high with six tackles the next week versus Louisville (11/16) ... previously set his season high a few weeks earlier with six stops against SMU (10/19).
- Recognized for his work in the classroom as part of the All-ACC Academic Team.
- 2023 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at STANFORD): played in 10 games with five starts as a sophomore … led the team in tackles for loss and sacks as a sophomore, building off his successful freshman campaign … finished with 34 total tackles, including 6.0 for a loss and 5.0 sacks.
- Posted multiple tackles in all but one game on the season, which came late at Oregon State (11/1) … started the season with six tackles at Hawaii (9/1), which featured career highs with 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks … added solo sacks later in the year during Pac-12 play against Arizona (9/23) and UCLA (10/21) … sack versus Arizona was part of five tackles, his most during Pac-12 that season.
- Added five stops late in the season versus Cal (11/18) before finishing with four a week later in a non-conference rivalry matchup with Notre Dame (11/25) … had three tackles in three games during the league slate against Southern California (9/9), Oregon (9/30 and UCLA.
- Listed with 364 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus on the season … highly-regarded again as a pass rusher with a 77.7 grade after creating 24 pressures (5 sacks, 2 quarterback hits and 17 hurries).
- Tabbed to the preseason Chuck Bednarik Award watch list … also tabbed to the preseason All-Pac 12 second team by Phil Steele and as a preseason honorable mention selection by the media who covered the league.
- 2022 SEASON (FRESHMAN at STANFORD): emerged as one of the top true freshmen in college football, making nine starts in his 11 games played for the Cardinal … tabbed a True Freshman All-American by 247Sports following the season … earned Stanford’s Outstanding Freshman award.
- Totaled 46 tackles on the season, including 8.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks … was frequently in the backfield with 13 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles … made multiple stops in eight different games and had four or more in five of those contests.
- Made a splash in only his second collegiate game, totaling nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss – all sacks – versus Southern California (9/10) … was one of three games with multiple tackles for loss on the season after recording 2.0 tackles for loss against both Oregon State (10/8) and at UCLA (10/29) … performance versus the Bruins was part of a career-high 10 tackles and a forced fumble, his lone outing in double digits during his Stanford career … one of his two tackles for loss went for a sack versus the Bruins.
- Majority of his season total came during Pac-12 play with six stops at Oregon (10/1), four versus Oregon State and nine against Washington State … went four-consecutive games with a tackle for loss during that stretch, which began at Oregon and ran through the Washington State trip.
- Credited with 430 defensive snaps at the end of the season by Pro Football Focus, which listed him with 28 total pressures (3 sacks, 3 hits, 22 hurries) … received an impressive 70.5 overall defensive grade as only a true freshman, which included a 70.5 grade in rush defense and a 73.9 grade as a pass rusher.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Mater Dei High School, one of the top prep programs in the state of California … led Mater Dei to a 12-0 season and a victory in the California State Championship Open Division his senior season … program went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 high school team in the country by MaxPreps.
- Named the statewide Defensive Player of the Year as a senior by the website CalHiSports.com after totaling team highs with 20.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks over 12 games … recorded an impressive 20.5 sacks over his prep career … was second on the team with 54 total tackles, including 42 of those that were solo.
- Tabbed the Trinity League Defensive Player of the Year as well as a first-team All-Trinity League selection … recognized as the Orange County Register’s Orange County Defensive Player of the Year following his 2021 senior season … later played in the prestigious All-American Bowl as one of the nation’s top players.
- Three-year letterwinner at Mater Dei … honors student throughout high school tenure and member of the Principal’s Honor Roll.
- A consensus four-star recruit by the likes of 247Sports, On3, Rivals and ESPN … was the first player left off the five-star list by 247Sports … among the top prospects in the country, ranking as high as No. 33 nationally by 247Sports … was No. 50 overall among recruits in the 2021 class by On3 and then No. 79 by Rivals and No. 121 by ESPN … was the No. 3 edge player in the country by 247Sports and No. 8 by On3 … listed as an outside linebacker by both Rivals and ESPN, ranking as high as No. 6 and No. 11 in that position group.
- Ranked as the second-best prospect out of California by 247Sports and a consensus top-10 state prospect by all four publications … was third in the state by On3, No. 6 by Rivals and No. 7 by ESPN.
PERSONAL
- David Bailey … son of Anthony and Monica Bailey … originally born in Orange, Calif. … has three siblings, DJ, Antoinette and Shawn … older brother, DJ, previously was a three-year letterman as a defensive end for Harvard from 2015-17.
- Earned a bachelor’s degree in science, technology and science from Stanford in less than four years … was enrolled in graduate school during his lone season at Texas Tech.
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