Tennessee’s quarterback commit in the 2020 recruiting class, four-star Harrison Bailey, turned a lot of heads during the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge this week. In fact, he did so well that he won the MVP award for the quarterback position at the event.
More than 100 prospects in the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes showed up to participate in the Five-Star Challenge, and there were several quarterbacks at the camp. But none of them looked more consistently impressive than Bailey.
According to Woody Wommack of Rivals, Bailey was the best quarterback at the event, performing better than Oklahoma commit and No. 1 overall player in the 2021 class Brock Vandagriff, four-star LSU 2020 commit Max Johnson, four-star USC commit Bryce Young, and others.
“This was the third year in a row that Bailey competed in the Five-Star Challenge and he saved his best performance for last,” Wommack wrote of Bailey. “The ball flew off his hands during one-on-ones and Bailey took the reins during the 7-on-7 tournament, calling plays for his team and leading them all the way to the championship game. Bailey thrives in a 7-on-7 environment, but what impressed most was his confidence and swagger as he directed his team. Bailey was the clear alpha of the quarterback group.”
In a video tweeted out by Brian Mohr of Rivals, Bailey can be seen holding the MVP award for quarterbacks at the Five-Star Challenge:
Harrison Bailey QB MVP pic.twitter.com/qPXCxGrf0U
— Brian Mohr (@Rivalsfbcamps) June 25, 2019
That’s not all for Bailey, though.
In Mike Farrell’s list of “Farrell Awards” from the event, Bailey was given the “Spin It” award. Farrell gives out the “Spin It” award to the quarterback every year that throws the best and most consistent passes in the Five-Star Challenge.
“This award goes to the quarterback who threw the best ball throughout the event – or ‘spun it’ the best. To me it was Tennessee commit Harrison Bailey, who looked like a different quarterback from a year ago,” Farrell wrote. “He’s lost weight, sped up his delivery and threw a nice, catchable ball all day long. He was the best quarterback at the event when you combine one-on-ones and the 7-on-7.”
Farrell also listed Bailey as an honorable mention for his “Poise Under Pressure” award, stating that Bailey was “very good in the 7-on-7 and certainly deserves props” even though his team finished in second place to Brock Vandagriff’s squad.
Wommack and Sam Spiegelman of Rivals both thought that Bailey’s performance wasn’t just good for himself, but also for Tennessee. Both have seen how much of a peer recruiter Bailey has been for the Vols, and his performance against elite competition should only help him in that pursuit. Bailey wasn’t the only Vol commit that stood out to them at the event, either.
“The Vols had a great day on Tuesday, with quarterback commit Harrison Bailey winning MVP honors after a very strong showing,” the two Rivals analysts said. “Bailey has been a vocal recruiter for the program and having him perform well in front of his peers will only help his recruiting pitch going forward. One of the best guys at the event was also tight end Arik Gilbert, a prime Tennessee target and one of Bailey’s high school teammates. Recent Vols commit Antonio Johnson was also very good, playing both ways and impressing as both a wide receiver and a tight end.”
Right now, Bailey is a four-star on every recruiting service, but that could certainly change after his performance at the Five-Star Challenge. He’s the No. 43 overall player and No. 2 pro-style quarterback on Rivals, and the 247Sports Composite rankings list him as the No. 120 overall prospect and No. 5 pro-style QB in the 2020 class.
Bailey will have another chance to show out in a camp setting later this week when Nike’s The Opening Finals get underway. Bailey is one of a handful of quarterbacks who will be competing in the Elite 11 Finals at the event.
On the field last year for Marietta High School in Georgia, Bailey completed 63.3 percent of his 335 pass attempts for 2,809 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just six interceptions while also running for four scores according to MaxPreps.
