California 2025 RB Caden Bailey is an offensive juggernaut
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
Throughout the 2023 California high school football season, each week as teams prepared to play Hilmar High School No. 9 was the focal point for opposing defenses. Caden Bailey put on a show for the Yellow Jackets amassing over 2,000 yards of total offense proving he could not be shut down. As collegiate teams take a deeper dive into the 2025 recruiting class this offseason, Bailey’s profile will continue to rise.
Also a standout on the track for Hilmar, Bailey competes in the 100, 200, triple jump, and 4×1 relay. The 10.9 laid down in the 100 shows on the gridiron.
Bailey compiled 1,788 rushing yards off 164 carries with 19 trips into the end zone. Showcasing his all-purpose abilities, he hauled in 12 for 253 yards with two more scores and threw for 241 yards. If that wasn’t enough, he added 16 tackles and two pass deflections on the 2023 stat sheet.
The offensive scheme allowing Bailey to go off was explained, “We run a spread and read option. At the beginning of the season, I started at quarterback; we were running more of a Wildcat. They did direct runs with me. But then teams started picking up on that, that is when they moved me to running back. After that, we did more to spread out the defense with me at running back.”
Bailey continued talking about his role in the attack, “Getting into open space was the biggest thing; that is what my coaches wanted. They wanted to get me one-on-one in the open field. They moved me from quarterback to slot receiver, we’d run fly sweeps and tosses every now and again. The fly sweeps helped get me into the open field.”
To advance in the playoffs, that is when Bailey turned in his top performance of the year.
“My best game, definitely the Pioneer quarter final game in the playoffs (won 41-32),” Bailey stated. “That was my best game. I had four touchdowns and 400 all-purpose yards.”
Photo credit: Bailey family