Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
Hayes' football ride took its first turn in its current direction when he chose a high school four years ago. Several prep league coaches wanted a chance to teach the 13-year-old with size 13 shoes. He was a Pop Warner all-star known to most of his team- mates as "Big Daddy" Hayes. Hayes and his mother eventually decided he would attend Poly Prep Country Day School, an incongruous campus of green space in New York's concrete jungle. Poly Prep reported assets worth $90 million in 2011 and charges college-level tuition for most of its students. Under the tutelage of head coach Dino Mangiero, who played on the defensive line for six years in the NFL, Hayes became a all-state first-teamer as sophomore, junior and senior. He is the only player to make the MSG Varsity All-New York City team for three consecutive years. Mangiero said teams did whatever they could to avoid running toward Hayes in his final season in Brooklyn. Away from the field, Hayes' class- mates and the alumni he met inspired him to make the most of his experi- ence. "He still had the family structure, but football at Poly gave him other FILM ANALYSIS Strengths Hayes has a very quick first step … Has great feet for a man of his size … His motor is hard to match … He loves the game of football and shows that on every play … Very nice kid off the field, but a mean, aggressive player on the field … Terrific wingspan, which is coveted by Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston. Areas For Improvement Has a tendency of getting too tall at times … Low man wins and he needs to work on that aspect of the game … Playing against athletes with his similar size and speed could be an ad- justment at the next level.