David Shaw is very excited about 2022 4-star signee David Bailey.

Of course he is, right? Bailey is the highest-rated player in the Cardinal class and a top-100 prospect in the 247 Composite. The edge rusher played through injury during his senior season at Mater Dei and still picked up 14.5 sacks.

The Stanford head coach joined the Pac-12 Network Wednesday to chat about Bailey, and he offered some effusive praise.

“Game-changer. That’s what he is. Speed, length, explosion, acceleration, he affects the game in a bunch of different ways first and foremost as an edge rusher. One of the better ones we’ve seen coming out of high school, and the rankings are what the rankings are, but I tell coaches all the time let’s trust our eyes. There are a lot of highly-ranked guys that we don’t even bother taking a look at. This guy, I don’t know that there are that many guys around the nation that are better from snap to quarterback—the length, speed, and explosion—it is impressive to watch. Then you watch him drop into coverage and he can move and twist and flip his hips and run with running backs and tight ends. This is a complete football player.

“Now, he’s a freshman (and) he’s gonna have a lot to learn, but he’s coming in early and we’re excited about him being able to help us this year coming up.”

Finding a pass-rusher was a clear mandate for the 2022 class. The Cardinal had just 15 sacks in 12 games during the 2021 season, the 6th-fewest among FBS teams, and averaged the 8th-fewest tackles for loss per game. Bailey should be able to help right away if he is as billed.