The 2021 season was one historic campaign for Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe.
After spending four years at Houston Baptist, Zappe entered the annals of college football history in his only season with the Hilltoppers. He broke the single-season records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns with 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns, respectively.
Zappe broke onto the NFL scene with his performance at Houston Baptist, and he boosted his draft stock tremendously with an incredible 2021 campaign. After performing at the both the Senior Bowl and the Combine, he looks to carry his momentum onto the next level.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Zappe about breaking records, transferring schools, proving doubters wrong, and much more.
JI: Coming off of such a record-breaking year, what does it mean to you to have the college record in yards and passing TDs?
BZ: It means a lot. The hard work that me, and my teammates, and the coaches, and our work that we put in the spring ball to summer workouts to fall camp, it was nice to see it all coming to fruition this past year, and to be able to have the year that we had on the offensive side. [It] just speaks volumes of having the guys around me that I had on the offensive line, our front five being number one, I think, in the nation in pass protection. And then, you just work your way to the receivers and running backs. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to have [for] my last year of college, and the way we went out was spectacular. It’s awesome.
JI: You had offensive coordinator Zach Kittley coming over from Houston Baptist at the same time as you, but how was that process transferring to a new school after four years at HBU?
BZ: I gotta admit, it was it was pretty hard to begin with. The decision to enter the portal, being at Houston Baptist for four years, it was kind of my home. I grew up with a lot of those guys, [I was] playing with those guys for four years. So, like I said, I was coming home, I was close to home; it was everything that I wanted. When Coach Kittley got the job to be OC in Western Kentucky, it prompted me to enter the portal, trying to see what other offers I could get.
Coming out of high school, I had only one offer, so I really didn’t get to go through the whole recruiting process. Being a transfer, I was able to hear from a bunch of big-time colleges. That was exciting for me. I’ve never been a part of that. But my heart was always with Kittley. Being in this offense for more years, talking with [Western Kentucky head coach Tyson] Helton – I’ve gotten a real good relationship with Coach Helton. I fell in love with the campus, fell in love with my teammates, and the school. It just definitely worked out.
JI: How would you say your time at Houston Baptist prepared you for your year at Western Kentucky?
BZ: Yeah, it prepared me. Words can’t really describe it. To be honest, being thrown in the fire my freshman year, starting 10 games out of the 11 my freshman year, it’s kind of in a scramble, looking back at how that’s prepared me throughout my entire college career preparation-wise. Knowing what to do, what not to do during the week of [the game], preparing what to look at, little keys like that to help you out on Saturdays. I think that, of course, there’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of stuff to learn when I take that next step to the next level. Just having that foundation of being at Houston Baptist, being able to learn all that I did going to Western Kentucky, everything that we did. [I] learned even more than I did before with new coaches around me. I’m just really excited to learn as much as I can when I get to NFL and do as much as I can help to the team win.
JI: Not having much attention as a high school recruit, do you still have that chip on your shoulder to continue to prove those doubters wrong?
BZ: Of course, there’s a little bit of that. You still got that chip on [your shoulders], you’re still that 17-year-old kid. It’s a funny story: I remember going on a visit, and a coach looked me in my eyes was like, “you ever thought about playing receiver?” [It’s] kind of funny how I do all this crazy stuff at quarterback. But yeah, I definitely still have that chip on my shoulder. I’ve kind of gotten to [that] mindset by the thinking of people that believed in me from step one, those that [were] always in my corner when I had one Division I offer, those people that when I was in high school, when I was getting overlooked, [were] still in my corner. Those are the kind of people that I go to work everyday for, to prove those people right. That’s my mindset now, but I agree with you on that I still have that chip on my shoulder. I gotta prove these people wrong.
JI: I can’t believe a coach wanted you to switch positions.
BZ: I’m not gonna say the school, I don’t want them [to start a] fuss, but my dad was there right behind me, and that coach says to me, “Ever thought about playing receiver? You know, you could play receiver here.” I remember looking at my dad like, “We should probably leave.” I ain’t playing receiver.
JI: You had the chance to go down to the Senior Bowl recently. How was that experience?
BZ: Oh, it was amazing. Definitely a dream come true, speaking of, outside the interviews and everything, being able to practice with some of the best of the best in the country and being able to meet those guys, throwing to some of those guys, build some of the friendships with those guys that, after our games or before my games, we used to watch on TV was amazing. And then we get to the football aspect of interviewing all the teams, playing the Senior Bowl, building those relationships with scouts, GMs, coaches, was spectacular. It was awesome. I’ve dreamed of being a part of the Senior Bowl. Being there was definitely something that I’ll tell my great-grandkids about. It was an awesome experience.
JI: Which quarterbacks have you grown up idolizing?
BZ: I was a Peyton Manning fan growing up my whole life. Seeing the way he prepares, seeing the way he played the game of football was something that I always looked up to, and he was kind of my role model growing up. Then, you know, when I knew I wasn’t going to be 6-5, I started looking at guys like Drew Brees, seeing the way that he overcame the same doubts that people have in me, height-wise and everything. He was the first person to shove all the height and all that stuff aside, like, “Look, you can play football. We’re not worried about height anymore.” That was one of the guys that have watched a lot; one of the greatest players to ever play the position.
And then of course, now Aaron Rodgers, the way he’s able to amplify plays, make every throw on the field [from] different arm angles. That’s some of the physical traits that he’s able to do and that he has. It’s another thing that I like to try to and mimic my game around and learn from them a lot.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
BZ: Football is – I’ve been playing since I was five – football has been life. Whenever I get the opportunity to step away and relax, [I’m] from South Texas, so we’re big in hunting, fishing. That’s what I do, get out in the outdoors, decompress, just hanging out with the family is what I like to do outside of football.
JI: What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever caught?
BZ: It was actually in New Mexico: I caught a rainbow trout that was about 29 to 30 inches. It was an inch or two away from the state record, but it wasn’t the state record, so we threw it back in the river or the creek or whatever it was. If it was a state record, I would have kept it, but we measured it. We looked it up right on the spot. I was like, man, a few more years, I’ll come back and try to catch another one.
JI: Do you think you’re gonna go back there and try to break the record again during an NFL offseason?
BZ: Oh, absolutely. You got to go back and try again.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
BZ: You’ll get a guy that loves to win, a guy that’s gonna do everything he can in his power to help the team win as much as possible. A guy who has a mentality of being the first one in the facility, last one to to leave; someone that’s going to do everything he can to prove his game to help the team, and I say it many times, help the team win as much as possible and do everything I can.
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