GSU faces Bethune Cookman with new quarterback
GSU quarterback Deljay Bailey rushes in for a touchdown against Texas Southern on Oct. 26. Bailey will likely make his first career collegiate start at Bethune Cookman on Saturday. Photo by Aniyah Rivers/GSU Athletics
GRAMBLING — Down its starting quarterback and all but out of the SWAC West Division race, Grambling State (44, 1-3 SWAC) will try to win its first road league game since Nov. 10, 2023, in a battle with Bethune Cookman (1-7, 1-3) on Saturday.
The Tigers will likely roll with Deljay Bailey, a freshman, at quarterback with starting quarterback Myles Crawley on the mend with a high ankle sprain he suffered last week in a 24-17 loss to Texas Southern. Bailey, 19, did not take a single rep in practice last week prior to the G-Men’s trip to TSU but was thrust in the game after Crawley went down. He filled in with 70 passing yards and 35 rushing yards and a TD.
Joseph commends Bailey’s ability to step in without much experience but now needs his young signal caller to play past his age as the Tigers try desperately to get back to .500.
“You can’t play with no reps. He had no reps. I take my hat off to him. He’s a feisty little kid,” Joseph said of Bailey. “ He said, ‘ Coach, I’m gonna drop my shoulder and get the first down.’” On Monday, Joseph told reporters Bailey was the front-runner to take over at QB for Crawley, stating, “Right now, I’m sure we’re leaning towards Deljay. I’m sure that’s what the offensive staff is just because he went in there and he was pretty solid. He wasn’t perfect but he was enough without any reps.”
Bailey transferred to GSU from Ole Miss after spring ball and threw for over 3,400 yards between his junior and senior year in high school.
He’ll try to lead an offense that has had trouble with sustaining drives in SWAC play, with the Tigers converting just 36% of their third downs (22-of-61) in four league contests. Against TSU, the GMen went 3- of- 11 on third down and punted six times as well.
“ Just not executing,” Joseph said of third down problems. “You gotta get all 11 on the same page. You’d rather all of them be wrong, then you’ll be right. But when you got nine going this way and two going this way, it screws it up. We gotta be better.”
GSU also needs to clean up its penalties from its average of 91 yards in infractions through four league games – second most in the SWAC. Joseph said fixing the issue starts with coaches correcting mistakes in practice and not allowing bad details to carry over to Saturday.
“We don’t condone what’s going on. But at the end of the day, we do teach discipline in our program and the way it is being called it looks like we’re not teaching discipline,” Joseph said. “We just get caught up in some things and some of the calls we don’t agree with. But we can’t throw flags on ourselves, so that’s one thing we gotta work through and get our kids to fight through.
“ We have a good group of kids. We have a group of kids that believe in one another and believe in the staff, and I believe in them. We’re losing these close games and we’re talking about how are we losing these close games? We have ‘Tell the Truth’ Monday and say, ‘What did we not do?’ We ask them, ‘Were you coached to do this?’ Do what the coaches tell you.’ If it’s wrong, it’s on the coach. I tell my coaches that if they see it in practice, they have to correct it right then and there. With this group, you can’t wait until after practice. If I wait, they’re going to forget that play.”
GSU takes on Bethune CookmanSaturday at 2 p.m. in Daytona Beach, Florida.
