He didn't play football until senior year. Here's how he still earned a scholarship

Landon Bailey said he heard the same question from college coaches the past few months.

"Are you sure this was your first time playing football?"

Yes, it was.

A senior at Spring Grove, Bailey spent most of high school focusing on baseball but decided to go out for the football team this fall. He became the first-team all-star tight end in YAIAA Division I and earned partial scholarship offers from three NCAA Division II programs.

He verbally committed to Shippensburg University last week and plans to officially sign with the program Wednesday afternoon. Feb. 7 is national signing day for Division II football programs.

"It still feels kind of strange," Bailey admitted. "One season changed my life and my outlook on sports. But it was still an easy choice (to play football over baseball). I had so much fun this year."

Playing college football in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a common path for players from the YAIAA and across the state. But that doesn't mean it's easy.

The Division II conference has produced numerous NFL players — including Dover's John Kuhn (Shippensburg) and New Oxford's Erik Harris (California). Philadelphia native and Bloomsburg grad Jahri Evans is a 2024 finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and will find out this weekend if he's been selected.

It's an opportunity that kids train for years to earn. And Bailey accomplished it after a few months.

"It's something I haven't seen in my 20-plus years coaching," Spring Grove head coach Tom Trone said. "He's definitely unique. We didn't know quite what we'd get out of him, but we knew he always had the ability."

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Learning the sport

Bailey looks like someone who's played football most of his life. He's 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

While he considered playing the sport in middle school, Bailey said baseball was his first love and he gravitated toward basketball because of his height. When he hit .312 as a freshman playing varsity baseball, he figured he should focus on that.

But Trone, who was hired as Spring Grove's head coach last March, had other ideas. A longtime assistant at South Western and Spring Grove, Trone had played high school football with Bailey's father, Chris, and had him as a student in eighth grade.

He ended up not needing to try too hard to convince him.

"I always kind of wanted to play, and I don't know why I didn't," Bailey said. "I figured it was my last year, so I might as well pull the trigger. I didn't want to regret not doing it."

Bailey dedicated himself immediately and attended every team workout last summer. He was accustomed to weight lifting from baseball, but there were plenty of adjustments to make.

From a physical standout, he needed to learn proper tackling and blocking technique. Mentally, he had to learn the playbook for the first time.

Still, he had the perfect build and hands to play tight end. While that position has become a dynamic part of NFL and college offenses, it remains somewhat underutilized at the high school level. Bailey didn't catch a pass Week 1 but gradually became a bigger part of the offense.

He caught his first touchdown Week 6 against Northeastern. The following game, he had 107 yards and two scores in a 63-49 win over Red Lion. He finished the season with 22 catches for 374 yards and five touchdowns while picking up two sacks on defense.

"Early on we still weren't sure what we had in him, but he became such a deep threat," Trone said. "With his height he's such a matchup problem. It was quite an adjustment for him physically coming from baseball, but he just had to work through that initial soreness."

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A different journey

Bailey realized after his first touchdown what he had been missing all those years.

"It was so electric," he said. "The crowd was bigger than any baseball game. I had more energy going through my body than ever before."

His coaches told him midway through the season he had the potential to play in college. He briefly considered trying to play two sports at the next level but quickly leaned toward football. He received significant interest from Division II and Division III schools and ended up with scholarships from Millersville, East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg.

Trone said a number of Division I FCS schools were interested in Bailey but needed to see a longer track record of film.

"A lot of coaches who came by made the comment: 'Imagine if he played since his freshman year,'" Trone said. "But I think a lot of them like him because he doesn't have any bad habits and he's a fresh slate. They all see his potential."

Bailey will join a Shippensburg roster that features a number of former YAIAA players, including York High grad Sam Stoner at starting quarterback. He needs to add at least 10 pounds of muscle to his frame and will likely redshirt next season as he adjusts to the college game.

A pitcher and corner infielder, he plans to finish his high school baseball career this spring. But he's glad he doesn't regret trying something new.

"I just ended up on a different journey," he said. "It shows you hard work will get you where you want to go."

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on X at @bad2theallibone. 

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Spring Grove player commits to Shippensburg after one year of football