Seattle Seahawks' Alvin Bailey Takes Pride In Representing Oklahoma

Former Broken Arrow Tiger Alvin Bailey Jr. has had an up and down season with the Seattle Seahawks, but this past weekend, things look on the uptick for the lineman.

He learned early from his father that perseverance would pay off. "We just always encouraged values, goals, hard work," said Alvin Bailey Sr.

With those values, Alvin Jr. is working hard and it's showing on the field. The former Arkansas Razorback is an important part of the Seahawks offensive line.

"It's been a great ride,” he said. “I'm very happy with my life so far; I feel like it's progressing good."

Already sporting a Super Bowl ring after his rookie season, this year was supposed to be a step up. But reports out of Seattle mentioned Bailey's preseason performance wasn't going well. He only played in two snaps in the first four games.

He also questioned playing in Seattle, but this past Sunday starter Russell Okung was out with an ankle injury, so Bailey stepped in. It was a turnaround.

"That's our style, we finish, be able to go further than everybody else is. That's good going forward," he explained.

Alvin Bailey stepped in and the offense didn't miss a beat; they didn't allow a sack. Consider the quarterback of the Seahawks, Russell Wilson, impressed with the Broken Arrow product's smarts.

"He's really incredible, smart too. [He] really knows the offense and the scheme really well, so if you ask him a question, he knows it in a heartbeat,” Wilson elaborated. “He's a guy that's been big for us in the past few years, and you don't want to see your starting left tackle go out but to have that type of depth in terms of Alvin Bailey able to step in and block a very tough defensive end for the majority of the night and do a really good job of it, that's exciting.”

For now, Bailey can take pride that he played a large part in the offensive line not being the weak link on the team. But he'll always have pride representing Green Country in the NFL.

"That's special, that's very special, to know that I got my whole hometown, the whole city rooting for me, not just B.A., not just Tulsa, but Oklahoma as a whole; that really means something," he said.