[Braden: Tim Sullivan]
Hayes is #80, TC West’s RT is #56, and that’s all I need to break out the Braden picture
Traverse City is well-known for many things: cherries; the film festival; top-flight restaurants (Georgina’s is a favorite), beaches, breweries, and bars (likewise Low Bar); and vineyards that look like they were photoshopped. Offensive tackles, however, aren’t going to make anyone’s list who isn’t related to former Oregon lineman Jake Fisher. Traverse City isn’t likely to become a recruiting hotbed overnight, but Traverse City West, Fisher’s alma mater, has another future DI player to export in 2018.
Ryan Hayes hasn’t hit the camp circuit and has been lightly scouted by the main services, so finding a full game from his junior season is especially intriguing. More intriguing still is how much is left to the imagination: Hayes is so athletic that his coaches have decided to use him as a full-time TE. He’s fairly easy to pick out in the video below; just look for the giant. Beyond that, he’s typically lined up as the in-line tight end on the right side of the line. The few times he’s not in the frame it’s because they split him out wide (by himself, too). Oh, and those few special teams plays? Don’t look for him on the line. He’s the punter, and he has a leg.
[Ed. Note- A: I know the letterboxing is weird. I started using a new video editor today and didn’t want to redo three hours of work. I’ll figure it out before the next FBD]
The first thing that stands out about Hayes, the one theme that’s present from the start of the game to the bitter end*, is the ferocity with which he plays. He has miles to go as far as technique is concerned (particularly with his hands) but when he connects, his goal is not just to move but to bury the guy. His combination of athleticism and nastiness is on display at 1:01, where he hops over a diving defensive lineman and twists an unsuspecting linebacker to the ground. He’s so much bigger than everyone else his age that he can lean on guys and, thanks to the head of steam derived from his speed, still crumple them. Of course, there are times where leaning on guys turns into him falling off of them. He's great at identifying and targeting the right guy to block in the run game, but his form needs work. I envision him taking a massive step forward with Greg Frey and Tim Drevno; a TE-turned-tackle learning the majority of his technique in college is as far from a red flag as you can get.
As a tight end, Hayes’ hands were hard to judge in this game. They seem to be at least solid and possibly a plus, but his quarterback’s throws were so off the mark that he only had a good chance to grab half of what was thrown his way. His athleticism and ability to wall off defenders was sufficient enough for him to never slip lower than the QB’s second read; he was overwhelmingly the primary read. He can also absorb a chip and still get into his route, so there’s certainly some upside to him as a receiver near the goal line.
The Michigan staff intends to bring Hayes in as a TE, though he has the height, speed, and athleticism to eventually slide in and play tackle. He’d have to put on some weight (he’s currently around 255), remain as athletic as he is now, and learn to extend his arms. One of the scouting services noted “power and strength” as an area for improvement; splitting hairs here, but I think he has tremendous lower body strength (seriously, watch the kid punt) and gets knocked for a lack of power because of his tendency to pop his elbows out and ram into guys with his arms folded. He’s also going to have to work diligently at learning the ins and outs of pass protection; being your team’s primary receiving threat doesn’t leave much time to pass protect.
There will be at least seven other tackles on campus when Hayes arrives, which ostensibly gives him the opportunity to redshirt, refine everything a tackle needs to, and see the field against teams other than Rutgers in three years. The quickest route to playing time, though, is as part of a Kaiju Redux package, where he could play the Godzilla to Wheatley Jr’s Mothra. With a roster stocked with field-stretching-leapy types like Bunting and Gentry, Michigan’s sorely lacking a tackle-sized object who has the run-blocking chops to play in-line and is also athletic enough to be a threat should be find himself open in the flat. If Hayes doesn’t come in and fill the Asiasi role, he’ll need to marinate for quite a while. With Frey and Drevno in charge, that’s not a bad thing.
*(West, down 13-12, was driving late in the fourth quarter when their QB was picked off, sealing their defeat.)