Man of Faith: Top 100 Michigan WR target Gatlin Bair ready to embark on two-year mission

The Texas sun was beaming on Friday morning as the West squad wrapped up its final practice before the All-American Bowl.

There was no better place to welcome some of the nation’s best recruits than the Lone Star State, a true mecca for high school football. Gatlin Bair arrived in San Antonio from Idaho — a state more associated with potatoes than pigskin. Still, Bair proved he belonged throughout the week, earning On3 practice MVP honors just a few days prior.

Bair, the No. 11 wide receiver and No. 43 overall prospect nationally, is down to Michigan and Oregon as he prepares to make his final decision at some point in the next month. On this morning, Bair isn’t thinking about that. He’s all smiles as he jogs through routes and teammates around him crack jokes.

After catching a pass near the sideline, Bair dashed back to his place in line as someone in the crowd excitedly gasped ‘that’s the fast kid!’

Fast, he is. This wasn’t Bair’s first time in Texas and it won’t be his last. Back in April of last year, Bair attended the prestigious Texas relays in Austin, posting a blazing 10.18 100-meter time and beating 2023 recruiting darling and Olympic hopeful Nyckoles Harbor in the process.

Bair’s elite speed shows up on the football field as well as he racked up 89 receptions for 1,805 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior. Simply put, Bair is game changing offensive weapon with the potential to be a star at the next level as a true freshman… in 2026.

Over the next two year Bair won’t be playing college football. He will instead be serving a two-year mission through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of an unwavering commitment to faith.

“It’s such a huge benefit for my whole life,” Bair said. “I feel like I’m going to be blessed for doing it. I’ve seen the blessings my older brothers have received for doing it. I bet if you went and talked to (Michigan offensive lineman) Andrew Gentry right now, he would tell you that he doesn’t regret it at all. I feel like there are zero regrets. Obviously, my faith is very important to me. The biggest thing is the impact you have on other peoples’ lives. The gospel you share and the service you do can really change someone’s life.

“You hear stories about missionaries helping people get away from addictions and rough situations. You can have impact on someone’s life that can change generations. I’ll be blessed for doing it, but the lives I’ll be able to bless is something that can’t be replaced.”

Bair is set to return to Texas in February to begin his mission. During this time, Bair will basically be disconnected from the outside world. Missionaries are instructed to avoid all forms of worldly entertainment. That means most music, television, movies and social media.

Bair will be fully locked in on serving.

“You try to mentally prepare, but I don’t think there is any way to fully prepare for it,” Bair said. “It’s one of those baptized by fire moments. You just have to jump in. Obviously, there are steps you take to able to serve a mission, but being away from everything isn’t something you can replicate. You just have to jump into it.”

Missionaries usually have just one day per week — commonly referred to as a preparation day — to do laundry and accomplish other life tasks as they get a break from their daily schedule of teaching and studying. Preparation days last until the early evening when missionaries resume normal activities related to their mission.

So when will Bair have time to work out and train?

The fact of the matter is he won’t have much of it. Missionaries have roughly 30-60 minutes of workout time per day. The aforementioned Gentry did all of his workouts in a small gym on the first floor of his apartment building in Orem, Utah. Bair’s mission is based in Dallas, which may give him a little more freedom to get creative.

“I was excited when I got Texas,” Bair said. “I wanted to come somewhere down south. With my background in football and how seriously people take it there, I feel like I can really connect with people there. I think it’s going to be a really good experience. The other part about Texas is that it’s the high school football capitol of the world. I’m going to have access to weight rooms and football fields.”

Two years away from the game with limited training means Bair isn’t going to come back the same player after his mission — at least that’s what the self-proclaimed experts on social media want you to believe. Bair blocks out all the outside noise. He knows he can come back the same player — and perhaps even better.

After all, his older brother, Peyton, recently returned from his mission and placed third in the decathlon in the SEC Outdoor Championships. Peyton was even away from the track an extra year as his senior high school season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, it didn’t stop him from making an immediate impact at Mississippi State.

“That talk is stupid,” Bair said with a laugh. “My brother came back, and he’s way better than he was when he left. His body wasn’t where it needed to be, but he was a different person physically. I think you are more mature when you get back. The nice thing about it is you get two years away from contact and injury. I think that’s a huge benefit. People say it could take two years off of my career. But I feel like it could add to it. You don’t have that wear and tear, and you have time to heal from the injuries you pick up during your high school career.”

Bair wants to have a college decision made before he leaves on his mission. He originally gave a verbal pledge to Boise State but backed out of his commitment after the Broncos parted ways with former head coach Andy Avalos.

As Bair took a step back from his recruitment and regrouped, two schools stood out from the pack — Michigan and Oregon. Both programs believed in Bair’s on field ability early and were always supportive of his faith — something that wasn’t necessarily the case with others.

“Some of the schools had a familiarity with the LDS people and the process of the mission,” said Burley head coach Cameron Anderson. “Obviously, Michigan did with Gentry. At first, there were big schools that weren’t recruiting him because of that. When they familiarized themselves with the process and sat down with me, some of them offered me and asked me to explain the process. In 2026, he’ll be 21 years old. He’s not going to get slower. He’ll have a couple of years to get fine-tuned. He’ll be fresh. In the beginning, it was looked at as a negative. I told them ‘well, imagine a kid that’s so passionate and wiling to serve that he’s giving up two years in his developmental phase because of his commitment to his faith and what he believes.’ Most of them were like ‘I never thought about it that way, and it makes a lot of sense.’

“There are so many guys that are willing to hit the portal and be done. He’s sacrificing two years for service in the name of something else he believes in. It’s been impressive to see him never waver. He doesn’t blink. It’s who he is. He’s the most dedicated athlete I’ve ever been around.”

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh personally recruited Gentry towards the end of his mission. Gentry originally committed to Virginia but had to change plans after head coach Bronco Mendenhall left the program. Harbaugh jumped on a plane and met with Gentry in Utah before earning his pledge.

While Harbaugh isn’t part of the LDS community, he is a man of faith and fully believes in Bair’s decision to take his mission now.

“Coach Harbaugh is a very faithful man,” Bair said. “He openly expresses that more than a lot of people would like. He’s very supportive. I think to him, character is one of his top priorities. That’s one of the top things he looks for in recruits. For him, it was a really cool thing. He likes that I’m willing to do it. He’s super supportive of it.”

Bair visited Michigan for the game against Ohio State in November and had a chance to spend some time with Gentry. While the two spoke a bit about the mission process, Gentry spent more time discussing development at Michigan.

Gentry had the benefit of coming to Ann Arbor and working under Ben Herbert, arguably the best strength and conditioning coach in the county. Gentry didn’t see much action this season, but the former Top 100 recruit could very well find himself in starting spot next year.

“He talked about coming back and how well Coach Herb did with him,” Bair said. “We talked about that process more than his experience on his mission. It would be huge to have Coach Herb. I think that’s one of the most important aspects — coming back to the strength coach. Your body is healed up, and you can start from ground zero and build it exactly how you want it.”

Bair may or may not end up at Michigan. Those plans remain unclear.

When it comes to his mission, Bair knows exactly what he wants to do and what he wants to get out of it. At the end of the day, life is bigger than football. Bair wants to grow as a person and hopes he can help others do the same.

When asked where he sees himself two years from now, Bair didn’t talk about being a freshman All-American or national titles. He talked about being a better human.

“That’s a very difficult question to answer,” Bair said. “I think I’ll be more mature. I think the discipline you get from it is one of the biggest things. I saw how disciplined my brother was when he got back — with his diet, his sleep and his training. I think that’s what allowed him to perform so well so quickly. I think I’ll have a different perspective on the world and other peoples’ lives.  I think I’ll be a more disciplined and more mature version of myself.

“I’ll be ready to go.”