Cardinal Coach's Corner: Bailey McElwain
One of the initial members of the 2017 class happens to be a very familiar name. After deciding to do a post grad year, Bailey McElwain remained committed to Stanford even after receiving interest as a member of the 2016 class from other teams. In order to prepare for his upcoming career at Stanford, McElwain elected to spend the upcoming year at Lake Forest Academy. We caught up with Lake Forest head coach Robin Bowkett for a breakdown of what he expects from McElwain in the latest edition of Cardinal Coach’s Corner.
CSR: Bailey has been one of the most vocal commits for Stanford in both the 2016 class, and now the 2017 class. What were some things that stood out about Bailey as he made the decision to head to Lake Forest Academy?
Robin Bowkett: I've actually never met Bailey in person. We text every other day and have had a few phone and FaceTime conversations. I see Bailey fitting in just fine because be he is an awesome kid. He has a great personality and determination that the other students and faculty members are going to gravitate to. It will be a bit of culture shock coming from the south up to Chicagoland. I don't think he even owns a heavy winter coat, so the colder weather could be interesting. Bailey is going to be a student we are going to enjoy having in our community.
CSR: Fullback is a position that Stanford values more than nearly every other school in the country. How do you guys utilize the fullback position?
Bowkett: We are a multiple spread option team here at LFA and I love utilizing two backs. Our H/FB can be in the backfield, or lined up as a wing, and he will do some of the same things Stanford will ask him to do, only we are always in the gun. We will run a little QB iso as well. Bailey will have opportunities to catch the ball out of the backfield, run the rock a few times and get involved in the pass protection. This will all help him become a complete back. I've had a few conversations with Coach Taylor on how he fits in and he's fired up that we will do some of the same stuff.
CSR: With Bailey taking the extra year before enrolling at Stanford, what are the areas you really want to work on with him to ensure he is ready compete at the next level?
Bowkett: Academically, Lake Forest Academy will push Bailey the same way Stanford will. He will be better prepared for the academic rigor and the intense writing that it will be. LFA has had many great students and student-athletes attend Stanford, and they have all been very successful there. I coached running backs for four of my seven years coaching at the college level and will coach up Bailey to be the best he can be. The atmosphere and competition might not be what he's used to down in Alabama, but taking the PG year is a great opportunity for him to grow and mature in the classroom, weight room and on the football field.