Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Tuesday press conference.
It’s funny how varied vantage points can give a different look to the same picture.
Take the NFL Draft selections of Texas A&M defensive ends Shemar Stewart and Nic Scourton, for example.
From College Station, it looked like A&M’s defensive line would be diminished. But from Boulder, Colorado, it looked like the line would be replenished.
Well, that’s the way Dayon Hayes saw it.
Hayes, a defensive end at the University of Colorado in 2024, was looking to relocate via the transfer portal. He was considering Texas A&M.
“Well, I mean, (defensive line) coach (Sean) Spencer is here,” Hayes recalled. “Me and him have got a good relationship.
“Then I seen you had two (defensive ends) drafted. So, I’m like, ‘Why not here, man?’ Y’all losing some big players at my position.”
Hayes — a 6-foot-3, 264-pound graduate transfer — told that story as part of his 24th birthday celebration on Tuesday.
He’s one of three transfers — joining T.J. Searcy (Florida) and Sam M’Pemba (Georgia) — who bolster the defensive end position.
Screech…
You hit the brakes. You’re skeptical. You wonder just how much replenishing can be done.
After all, Stewart was a first-round selection. Scourton was a second-round pick. Guys like that aren’t easily replaced, especially by a transfer who *checks notes* had just 16 tackles and two sacks last season.
That’s right. But check those notes again.
Hayes' stats were modest because he played in just four games. He sustained an ankle injury, which required season-ending surgery, in a 38-31 Buffaloes victory over Baylor.
Sixteen tackles and two sacks are good production for four games. That pace for 12 games equates to 58 tackles and six sacks. That would’ve led A&M in sacks last season and would’ve led all Aggie defensive linemen in tackles.
Check those notes again. Look at 2023. While at Pittsburgh that season, Hayes had 45 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, six quarterback pressures, four passes broken up and a forced fumble.
A&M would likely take that production from Hayes right now. After all, Stewart had just 65 tackles and 4.5 sacks in his three-year career at A&M.
Of course, Stewart was playing against Southeastern Conference competition. The SEC is much more challenging than the Big 12 and ACC.
Hayes knows that. It’s also another reason he’s at A&M. And it’s why he worked hard to prepare for the rigorous SEC grind.
“I think I’ve grown most at playing more physical,” he said. “I kind of went away from that. I think here, coach Spence and coach Tony (Jerod-Eddie), really got me to lock back in and play more physical.”
Hayes is confident he can be a strong complement to defensive end Cashius Howell, who’s expected to have a breakout year. Hayes was almost immediately impressed by his new teammate.
“I ain’t going to lie, coming here and seeing Cashius, like, I gained a lot of respect for the guy,” he said. “The world don’t know. I’m trying to tell y’all he’s like that.”
A powerful defense starts up front. A strong pass rush from a replenished defensive line could make A&M a legitimate SEC contender.
Hayes was part of Pittsburgh’s ACC Championship team in 2021. He has seen first-hand what a championship team looks like.
He believes he sees one at A&M.
“It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of building together,” Hayes said. “I think we’ve got it here. I think we’ve got some vets on the D-line, O-line … the whole team.
“That really was one of my biggest reasons for coming here. We got everything here, man. We’ve just got to put it together, and it will happen.”
That’s a lofty goal and it’s within reach… from Hayes’ vantage point.
