photo by: Photo courtesy Bailey Johnson

Bailey Johnson, left, takes a photo with Kansas offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa at a camp at Kansas on June 11, 2025.

Bailey Johnson had always been told that he should play football.

Johnson, a longtime lacrosse player, came to high school with the height and size to be a star along in the trenches. He acquiesced and joined the Lawrence football team his freshman year, and that decision, as he put it, “has worked so far.”

Four years into his football career, Johnson has turned that suggestion into becoming a collegiate athlete. Johnson committed to Iowa Western Community College following his senior year with the Lions.

“I didn’t want to play college ball until after my sophomore year,” Johnson said. “Going in that summer, I got invited to a few football camps, and that’s when I realized I could really do something with this.”

Johnson at 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds is as strong as they come. That strength helped him shine in summer football camps over summers, which led to Division II and numerous junior colleges recruiting him.

“Even against the bigger dudes, I’m pretty strong,” Johnson said. “I’m pretty strong for high school, and so I just take that as an advantage over all these high school players. And obviously it has worked out a lot.”

What makes Johnson such an intriguing prospect to Iowa Western and other junior colleges is his quickness for his size. Johnson attributes a lot of that to his lacrosse playing days, and that has helped him succeed on the gridiron.

“I’m a bigger dude, so the quickness kind of surprises a lot of these coaches coming out of me,” Johnson said. “Playing football, it’s helped out a lot.”

This past summer is when his recruitment started to heat up, and Iowa Western stayed in close communication the entire time. That helped Johnson and the coaching staff build a strong relationship, and after a visit in November, Johnson ultimately committed.

Iowa Western is one of the best junior college football programs in the country. The Reivers have gone to the national championship in four straight seasons and won it all in 2022 and 2023. The Reivers are looking to get back to the national title game this season with a 9-1 record with one game left on the regular season schedule.

Not only can Johnson be part of a winning program at Iowa Western, but he can be at a school that has a penchant for turning its players into Division I athletes. Ultimately, that’s Johnson’s goal and main reason for going the junior college route.

“The end goal is a DI school,” Johnson said. “Iowa Western is one of the best in the nation. I really love their facilities, their coaches. I really think they could get me to a DI I want to go to.”

At Iowa Western, Johnson will be halfway between his home state of South Dakota, where a lot of family still lives, and his new home of Kansas. While he did have offers from just about every junior college in Kansas, Johnson ultimately felt at home at Iowa Western, and it’s still close enough between the two states to have family come watch his games.

For now, Johnson is working on getting lighter to physically compete among the top junior college teams in the country. While this dream of getting to play Division I football is new for Johnson, he understands the opportunity in front of him.

“They’re really good football team, and I really care about football,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I can make the most throughout my time at Iowa Western.”

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High running back Tahj Edwards (1) is lifted by teammate Bailey Johnson after reaching the end zone during the Lions’ game against Olathe West on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at the CBAC in Olathe.