CAMPUS CONNECTION - WVU Athletics

Mr. Consistency

CAMPUS CONNECTION

By John Antonik for WVUsports.com
November 16, 2011 04:27 PM

Stedman Bailey

Asked Monday if he was surprised by Stedman Bailey’s performance this year, West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen said he saw enough of Bailey last spring and this fall to realize that he was capable of putting up the numbers he has so far.

Bailey is one of only three players in school history with 1,000 yards receiving, the sophomore now just seven yards shy of breaking David Saunders’ 15-year record of 1,043 yards produced in 1996.

“His consistency was one of the things that I questioned coming into the year,” said Holgorsen. “You could tell he had the ability to make plays and be a good player.”

Of the tape Holgorsen watched from last year, what he saw from Bailey was an inconsistent player who made great catches one game only to disappear the next. Holgorsen began noticing a change in Bailey’s consistency during training camp.

“In camp, he was pretty consistent, but until you do it throughout the course of the season you can’t really tell, so I’ve been happy with his consistency,” he said.

Bailey’s 57 receptions is currently second to Tavon Austin’s 72 catches for the team lead, and his 10 TD grabs are now two shy of the school record of 12 shared by Chris Henry (2004) and Darius Reynaud (2007).

Where will Bailey be after another year in Holgorsen’s offense?

“We’ll get him a year better, and he’ll be even more consistent and more dynamic next year,” Holgorsen predicted.
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