By Austin Turner — Executive Editor
Bailey Gaither looked as though he hadn’t missed a beat.
The San Jose State wideout was working hard on the practice field with his teammates on a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon just days before the 2019 season opener.
He caught passes like the rest of them, he ran sprints like the rest of them. As an outside observer, you’d never have known what Gaither’s last 10 months have been like.
After practice and workouts, the senior escaped the grueling California sun and took a seat in the shade on a bench near the weight room. He undressed his ankle tape to reveal a visual embodiment of what he’d been through since the last time he suited up for battle for the Spartans — a gruesome red scar from his heel nearly to his calf.
In SJSU’s Week 5 game against Hawai’i last September, Gaither was electrifying. With only two receptions, he racked up 97 yards and a touchdown. That 55-yard second-quarter TD, however, turned out to be quite costly.
After quarterback Josh Love launched a bomb from his own 45-yard line, Gaither caught the ball in stride around the 10. After Hawai’i corner Zach Wilson tripped Gaither up near the five, he felt immediate discomfort in his left leg.
“I knew something had happened,” he said. “I was a few yards from the end zone and I couldn’t run on my left foot, so I just decided to hop in the end zone. I knew if that was my last play, I would score at least.”
His initial suspicions were correct. It was the final play of his junior season.
Gaither sat down on the blue and gold turf of the end zone, holding his left calf. Teammates Josh Oliver and Love carried their comrade to the sideline in a beautiful display of comradery and loyalty.
Their teammate had given them a 14-point lead, but their friend was hurt.
Gaither provided the Spartans with their biggest lead of the entire season up to that point. There was still no cause for optimism.
“Bailey’s a tough kid so when he didn’t get up it was immediately concerning,” said head coach Brent Brennan. “That’s just not him. There wasn’t much of a celebration when I saw him not move very well.”
When the Spartans got to the locker room with a 17-10 lead, word had already spread of the severity of Gaither’s injury.
He had been diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Out for the season in a blink of an eye.
“[The athletic training staff] took me to the locker room,” Gaither said. “They took off my cleat, they cut the tape off and that’s when I knew it was horrible.”
When the tape was removed and the foot was allowed to breathe, it inflated like a balloon — a telltale sign of a ruptured Achilles.
Not only did the Spartans lose the game in a quintuple-overtime thriller, but they also lost their top wide receiver and most dangerous deep-threat.
Surgery was the next step for Gaither. It was performed a week after the injury occurred, to allow for swelling to subside. He wasn’t able to fully walk on his left foot for another two-and-a-half months after the operation.
During that time frame, Gaither couldn’t perform basic functions that most take for granted.
“You can’t shower yourself, you can’t get out of bed, you can’t be comfortable … You can’t do anything,” he said.
Gaither, with a walking boot and the assistance of a knee scooter, struggled to get around his home. Luckily, he lives with a handful of teammates, including Love, who said he commonly would drive Gaither to doctor appointments.
“We helped him out as teammates in any way we could,” Love said.
In a sport fueled by masculinity, Gaither allowed his teammates to help him when he was in a vulnerable state.
Once he was able, he began to rehabilitate his Achilles, working day and night to get back to the game he loves. Even in a time where the dangers of football has become more consequential and mainstream, quitting never crossed Gaither’s mind.
“It was so important for him to get back,” Brennan said. “He just busted his tail and made every rehab session. He did everything he had to do so that he could keep getting closer and closer to full speed.”
The unfortunate reality of a ruptured Achilles is that it could take over a year to get back to action for many athletes. It took 10 months for Gaither, which is impressive considering the magnitude of what took place.
At the start of fall camp on July 31, Gaither practiced with his team. It was as if he had been there the entire time.
“He’s the same player,” Love said. “He’s ready to go, he’s looking fast out there. We’re just ready to have him back and get this thing rolling.”
And it will be rolling full speed. Gaither will be active and ready to go for the season opener against Northern Colorado.
Not only is Gaither ready for that game, but he’s ready to have the best season of his career.
“I’ve always had it in my mind that I’ve always wanted to have 1,000 [receiving yards,]” Gaither said. The most yards he’s had in a season up to this point is 327 in his four games in 2018.
“I think I’m very capable of doing it. But for the team, we just want to win.”
The Spartans should have a much better chance of achieving that team goal with Gaither on the field this year.
Gaither’s story is one that is humbling and one that puts football into perspective. He’s just a kid from Paso Robles who’s to be excellent at the sport he loves. Freak injuries can happen at any moment, and the game can be taken away in a flash.
It’s about how you get back up. And Gaither is a prime example of that.
“I’m excited to just be myself,” he said. “That’s it.”
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