2022 Mountain West Football Top 50: #43, Fresno State LB Levelle Bailey
The Bulldogs linebacker is the first Fresno State player on this year’s preseason countdown of the Mountain West’s top performers.
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Underappreciated, maybe, but not for long.
When you think about Fresno State Bulldogs football, you typically think about offense: Ryan Mathews, Derek Carr, Davante Adams, KeeSean Johnson. The program has also developed some pretty good defenders over the years, though, including the next player on our list of the Mountain West’s best.
Linebacker Levelle Bailey found his way onto the field as a freshman in 2019, starting five games and posting 30 tackles and six tackles for loss, and then he made five more starts the following year before breaking out in 2021. He finished third on the Bulldogs defense with 56 total tackles, but he also contributed six pass breakups, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the only linebacker in the Mountain West to finish with pass rush and coverage grades in the top ten.
Heading into his senior year, Bailey now has 31 career games, including 22 starts, on his resume. His ability to get things done both at the line of scrimmage and well behind it will be as important to the Bulldogs’ championship ambitions as his better-known offensive peers.
OUCH. @LevelleBailey6 with the SACK😤#GoDogs | #PrideOfTheValley pic.twitter.com/hxXqwBXPUG
— Fresno State Football 🧸 (@FresnoStateFB) December 18, 2021
Let’s run it bac REDWAVE🐶! #MoneyOn6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/RNYoalaDL2
— 6️⃣ (@LevelleBailey6) February 19, 2022
