SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Daelin Hayes hasn’t provided an immediate injection of pass-rushing effectiveness into Notre Dame’s defense, but that was always going to be a difficult ask for a true freshman.
But Hayes’ teammates believe the day is coming when the former five-star recruit is terrorizing opposing quarterbacks on a consistent basis.
“He works really hard and continues to learn,” linebacker James Onwualu said. “Couldn’t say enough good things about him. He’s going to be a great player. Just needs to work on a few little things. I think he’ll do that in the spring and be a great player.”
Hayes hasn’t been put in many pass-rushing situations this year, with the 6-foot-3, 238 pound Belleville, Mich. native mostly dropping into coverage in the packages in which he gets on the field. That’s worked at least once, when he ran step-for-step with a Michigan State tight end and tipped a Tyler O’Connor pass into the waiting arms of fellow freshman Devin Studstill in Notre Dame’s 36-28 loss to the Spartans in September.
“I had to do a double-take, like, Is that Daelin?” defensive end Isaac Rochell said. “He plays D-Line and he’s getting tipped passes?”
For Hayes, who enrolled early in January, the transition to Notre Dame has been a smooth one. He was limited in high school by a pair of shoulder surgeries and didn’t take contact during practice in the spring, but has progressively gained a grasp of how to effectively practice and turn that into success on Saturdays.
“In high school, you’re like Superman,” Hayes said. “You want to go all over the place, do everybody’s job. But in college, you really just have to hone in on your assignment and being detailed in that assignment and being able to execute in that assignment.”
Hayes said his weight peaked around 261 pounds during the spring, but he’s shed about 20 of those over the last few months while focusing on his diet (he’s eating more vegetables, for one). Eventually, coach Brian Kelly wants him to play at about 250 pounds, and Hayes fashions himself as a true pass rusher, not a hand-in-the-ground defensive end.
Notre Dame hasn’t had someone with that ability in quite some time, but eventually Hayes could be that guy. His skillset isn’t up for question, but Rochell offered praise for his mentality, too, that perhaps could allow him to be a consistent pass rusher as soon as 2017.
“He’s extremely mature and a lot of people don’t have that maturity,” Rochell said. “I’ve only seen a few guys since I’ve been here with that maturity, guys like Jaylon Smith. That’s the biggest thing with him. It’s incredible the way he takes everything on and deals with it, he does a really good job.”