MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In a perfect world, Hakeem Bailey probably wouldn't have started last year's season opener against Virginia Tech. In fact, he probably would have spent the entire year inactive as a redshirt after playing just one season of junior college ball at Iowa Western Community College.
 
But the world of college football is rarely perfect, and, consequently, Bailey's introduction to Power 5 Conference football was less than perfect when the Mountaineers faced 22^nd-ranked Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland.
 
Virginia Tech freshman quarterback Josh Jackson didn't go all Tom Brady on the Mountaineers, but he did hit some big passes against West Virginia's inexperienced secondary that helped the Hokies to a 31-24 victory.
 
"Nah, I wouldn't say it was good," Bailey said before yesterday's practice. "It was on me. I was looking at stuff that I wasn't supposed to be looking at but it was a learning experience."
 
Unfortunately for Bailey, most of the learning came while watching from the sidelines in the second half. 
 
He did come back to start the East Carolina game but was once again benched in place of true freshman Kenny Robinson. And when Robinson was later moved to free safety, West Virginia eventually turned to senior Elijah Battle at left cornerback for the remainder of the season.
 
Bailey, who shined during spring and fall practices, simply didn't translate that to the field last year. He admits it was the first time in his life that he had ever played in front of a crowd of more than a thousand people, so there was probably a little stage fright to overcome.
 
"Sometimes there's high anxiety when you're running out there in front of a lot of people, but for the most part (practice success) translates," cornerbacks coach Doug Belk said. "Part of our job is to develop them and get them ready to play."
 
All was not lost for Bailey in 2017, however.
 
He appeared in 11 games, made 32 tackles and broke up six passes for the season, and bounced back to play an outstanding game in West Virginia's 20-16 victory over Iowa State when he made a career-best 10 tackles.
 
In the Heart of Dallas Bowl game loss to Utah, Bailey notched a pair of pass breakups and contributed a couple of tackles to his season stat line, so there was clearly a lot of value to be gotten out of his sophomore season at WVU.
 
Now, Belk believes the hardships Hakeem endured last year are really going to pay dividends for West Virginia's defense this fall.
 
"Looking back at the time it probably wasn't good for his development but right now I think it's really good because he's taken some lumps and he's also made some plays and has played some football at a very high level," Belk pointed out. "I think he's only going to get better."
 
Tony Gibson, the man who signed off on the decision to begin the season with Bailey at left corner, agrees.
 


"We played him last year out of necessity," he said. "Right now he's had as good a summer as anyone on the team. He's just a different kid. Hakeem probably didn't say five words last year and now he says 'Hi coach Gibby,' so at least we're getting three or four words a day out of him now."
 
So far, the secondary is getting much more consistent play out of the Atlanta resident and he is confident that will continue when the games count this fall. Bailey credits some weight room conversations with standout former Mountaineer cornerback Rasul Douglas with getting him in the right frame of mind this fall.
 
Douglas' message to Hakeem was simple: play with confidence.
 
Douglas went through something similar during his transition from junior college to Big 12 football. His first year at WVU, like Bailey's, was also unremarkable but Douglas stuck with it, played with more confidence and parlayed the success he enjoyed during his senior season into a job in the NFL with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
 
So a lot can happen in a year's time.
 
"It's all confidence," Bailey admitted. "I had to get used to the game speed and all of that. I've got it down pat now."
 
"Hakeem is a smart guy and sometimes you don't even have to coach him on mistakes," Belk explained. "He will come to you and say 'I did this wrong.' 
 
"He's a lead-by-example guy," Belk added. "He asks questions in the meetings but he's not a vocal guy. Yet his work ethic is unmatched. He spends a lot of time with a couple of other guys in that room doing extra work, watching extra film and watching other people develop their games and that's what we want them to do."
 
Gibson has plenty of concerns with his defense, but Hakeem Bailey and the guy who lines up across the field at the other corner spot are not nearly as high on his list.
 
Gibson said he's been pleased so far with Bailey, the elder statesmen of the group, as well as sophomore Derrek Pitts Jr., junior Keith Washington, sophomore Jake Long, junior Jordan Adams and junior Josh Norwood, a safety who is also taking some reps at corner.
 
"They're doing a heck of a job," Gibson said. "I'm pretty pleased with them right now. With our quarterback and our receiver corps they're getting really good work every day and I love the way they are competing.
 
"They're trying to get better, they're playing within the scheme and they're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Gibson added.
 
Bailey echoed his coach's sentiments, in far fewer words, of course.
 
"Just tune in this season, that's all I've really got to say," he concluded.