ZonaZealots will be presenting different freshman on the Arizona Football team as the season progresses to get to know them better. Our first freshman is Arizona safety, Isaiah Hayes.
Isaiah Hayes graduated a semester early in December 2015, same as his current roommate Khalil Tate. Both wanted to get to Tucson earlier than the rest of their class to learn as much as possible and get situated in college before the 2016 season began.
Isaiah hails from Calabasas, California, which is a bit north and east of Los Angeles on the edge of the San Fernando Valley. He played cornerback and earned All-CIF Southern Section honors. The Southern Section is huge and extremely competitive, so this honor is nothing to sneeze at.
Hayes was rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com, Rivals.com, and 247 Sports and was ranked No. 50 cornerback by ESPN according to his college profile on ArizonaWildcats.com.
Isaiah is not the first football player in his family, his father, Chris Hayes played at Washington State University and then in the NFL for nine years. The elder Hayes played for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and New England Patriots.
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Chris Hayes explained his son’s personality to Michael Lev, “He gets his mindset on something, and that’s where he’s at 24/7. He’s a very self-driven person. He really puts a lot of pressure on himself and challenges himself.”
Isaiah is as serious about his football as he is about his education, he is Pre-Business major in the Eller School of Business.
Rich Rod feels that football comes to Isaiah naturally, handed down from his father. Jason Scheer reported his comments, “Being around it, football being important, being able to learn some things from his dad. His dad was a tough, competitive guy and you see that kind of Isaiah.”
Inspiration
Isaiah is a biblical name, according to ThinkBabyNames.com, his name is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning is “God is salvation.” The Book of Isaiah’s premise is that God’s word endures forever, it speaks a message of comfort and promises of messianic hope to every generation. No wonder Hayes is a religious young man. He also often retweets Su’a Craven’s inspirational quotes. Don’t know if they are friends or he just looks up to him, but it is meaningful.
Isaiah also gets a lot of inspiration from his father, what more could you ask for in a football dad?
A former collegiate and NFL Football player, Chris Hayes has a lot of admiration for his son. As does his mom and family who all came out to the UCLA game to cheer him on. The family has a hashtag for Isaiah, #21Reasons…we finally figured out that Hayes jersey number is 21, but we don’t know if there is more behind it.
Recent Performance against UCLA
Hayes got his first start instead of Jarvis McCall at free safety against UCLA. I see a ton of potential in this Wildcat, and I am not the only one. According to Zack Rosenblatt, Rich Rod’s reaction to Hayes performance against the Bruins was confident, “He’s an aggressive guy, and we need his aggressive mentality.”
It was my job to spot the tackles during the UCLA game and remember several times when no other defender could stop the run, Hayes was the last chance, and he stepped up and pulled down the runner. Those plays were the catalyst to make Isaiah Hayes our first Friday Freshman.
Isaiah added three more solo tackles to his season stats bringing the total to nine, but that’s only in three games.
Future
We asked coach Rich Rodriguez about Hayes moving forward, “Freshman defensively, you mention Isaiah Hayes and Tristan Cooper, are two freshman defensive backs that are going to play and have played quite a bit. Offensively we don’t know if there’s going to be any more true freshmen playing other than Khalil and obviously, he’s going to get ready to play right now.”
Here are some highlights from his high school career:
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Keep your eyes out for the Number 21! BearDown Isaiah!