University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Sterling Bailey
September 30, 2015 | Football
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
It appeared that Georgia defensive end Sterling Bailey had an interception in the second quarter of last Saturday's 48-6 rout of Southern University, which would have been the first pickoff of his career. However, fellow senior Jordan Jenkins was flagged for lining up off-sides on the play, negating a rare hands-on-the-ball situation for the end.
So far this season the 6-foot-3, 282-pound Bailey, from Gainesville, Ga., has 15 tackles and two quarterback hurries, numbers that illustrate how some players can affect the game tremendously (as Bailey often does) without winding up with gaudy statistics.
In a recent quick chat, Bailey talks about focusing on football in high school, catching up on sleep, the problem with a lot of modern music and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen or heard on a football field?
Bailey: The funniest thing I've seen, so far, is whenever we're over in pass rush (drills), I don't know, somehow, some way, someone's pants are always being pulled down. We have yet to find out why or how it's happening, but it happens.
Frierson: Who's someone on the team that doesn't get enough credit or attention, whether it's for being really good or funny or whatever?
Bailey: I like to say our secondary doesn't really get enough attention. If you look at it, we have a really young secondary and people will point out the negatives that they do, but they don't see the positives. ... These past couple of games you can see that they've improved on certain things and I'm glad for it, because I know that whenever it gets down to crunch time, I'll be able to depend on them.
Frierson: Say it's Saturday night after a game and you can pig out on anything, what are you ordering?
Bailey: It's barbecue. After the game, I'm always pigging out on barbecue — always.
Frierson: Anything in particular or just everything in sight?
Bailey: Everything in sight. It doesn't matter, I know at night I'm just going to have used up all the fuel in my body and need to pig out.
Frierson: Do you remember the moment when you realized it was time to make a real commitment to the sport and began putting in the work that eventually got you to where you are today?
Bailey: I would have to say my sophomore year in high school. After I suffered two foot injuries on the basketball court, I sat down and was like, hey, maybe basketball isn't for me. I realized I needed to focus on football, so my junior year I took the season off for basketball and just focused on football — and, hey, I'm here.
Frierson: Do you have a favorite football movie? And is there one that really captures what you guys go through?
Bailey: One of my favorites would probably be "Remember the Titans." I just love all of the meaning behind it. It's so important to me.
Frierson: When you're away from football and you have some quiet time, what are you doing?
Bailey: I'm probably sleeping or catching up on some homework. Football season, it keeps you busy, so the only things you really have time to do is catch up on homework or rest.
Frierson: If you could recommend two bands or musicians that you really like but that a lot of folks might not have heard of, who would they be?
Bailey: I really don't have one, honestly.
Frierson: You don't listen to that much music or what you listen to is pretty mainstream?
Bailey: I listen to a lot of old school stuff, really. I'm not into a lot of the new artists that have come out.
Frierson: Why is that?
Bailey: I don't know. I just feel like nowadays songs that are produced, they just don't have any kind of meaning behind them. It's just, let me just put together a song to get a hit and make money and stuff like that.
Whereas back then, when an artist was coming out with an album or song, it took them a while to come out with it, and every song had a meaning and purpose behind it.
John Frierson is a staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. Follow him on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
