Chris Hayes believes his second-oldest son, Isaiah, plays with a “little-man complex” — which is a funny thing to say about an 18-year-old who is 6 feet, 180 pounds and still growing.
But Isaiah, a freshman safety for the Arizona Wildcats, always was trying to keep up and play with older brother Chris Jr., who had three years on him. That required extra effort. It made Isaiah an overachiever.
“That’s just his mentality,” Chris Hayes, a former NFL defensive back, said by phone Wednesday.
“He gets his mind set 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.”
That didn’t stop when Isaiah Hayes arrived in Tucson. He enrolled in January to jump-start his college career. Nine months later, he earned his first career start in last week’s game against UCLA. He’s expected to start again Saturday, when Arizona visits No. 24 Utah.
“That kid is super-focused,” Chris Hayes said. “He told me he was going to graduate early, get a head start, learn the system and give himself an opportunity to play. He’s doing everything he said he was going to do.”
Isaiah Hayes has proved to be a valuable addition to an Arizona defense that’s in the midst of a major transition. He has appeared in all five games, recording nine tackles. He subbed at cornerback when injuries struck there and surprisingly supplanted Jarvis McCall Jr. at free safety against the Bruins.
Hayes possesses two particular qualities that appeal to the UA coaching staff: He’s a quick study, and he’s innately aggressive.
“Because he’s such an aggressive kid naturally, you can (do) more work on the finer things with him — the footwork, the eyes, the hand placement,” safeties coach Jahmile Addae said.
“He seems like a coach’s kid. Things come easily to him. He picks up adjustments very, very well. When you tell him something once, it pretty much sticks. He’s a sharp kid in the classroom. He’s polished at a young age.”
Isaiah Hayes is a player’s kid. His dad played in the NFL for seven seasons, including five with the New York Jets. Chris Hayes’ coaches included Mike Holmgren, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Hayes’ teammates included Keyshawn Johnson, who remains a close friend and neighbor in Calabasas, California, and attended last week’s game at the Rose Bowl with Hayes’ family.
Chris Hayes tried to steer his sons away from football.
“I tried to keep them out just because I know what goes into it mentally, spiritually and physically,” he said. “Football is not for everybody. It’s a violent game. Don’t do it because daddy did it; do it because you want to do it and you love to do it.”
Chris Jr. and Isaiah had it in their DNA. Chris Jr. is a junior safety at Portland State. Isaiah is just getting started at the UA. (Their younger brother, Jeremiah, 11, is “the real athlete in the family,” said Chris, who also has a daughter, Asia, 4, with wife Aran.)
Despite his background, Chris Hayes doesn’t inundate his sons with coaching tips.
“He played in the NFL and all that, but he lets me do what I do,” Isaiah said. “If I have any questions, I can go to him, of course. He puts his two cents in on what I need to work on. But he really lets the coaches do their job. He doesn’t get into the middle of that. He’s a cheerleader now.”
Chris did have some advice for Isaiah after the UCLA game. He put a hard hit on Ishmael Adams on a fly sweep in the first quarter. But Isaiah didn’t have a good base and failed to wrap Adams up. Adams spun out of the tackle at the 6-yard line and advanced to the 2.
“I gave him an ‘A’ on coming up, for his aggressiveness, but an ‘F’ for not finishing the play,” Chris Hayes said. “It’s easily correctable. You want to win more than you lose on that football field. You’re definitely going to lose some battles out there, but you’ve got to learn and grow from them.”
Asked to assess his performance against the Bruins, Isaiah Hayes said it was “OK.” The main issue: Arizona didn’t win.
“I feel like I could have contributed more to the team,” Hayes said. “I don’t think it’s about me. I think it’s about the unit.”
It isn’t difficult to figure out where that mindset comes from.
“He’s been around football his whole life,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I think that gets passed down naturally, football being important, obviously being able to learn some things from his dad. His dad was a tough, competitive guy, and you see that in Isaiah.”
Extra points
- If freshman quarterback Khalil Tate starts at Utah, he’ll be able to do more things than last week, Rodriguez said. Tate has had more time to prepare during practice after having to enter the game in relief against UCLA.
- More should be known about the state of Arizona’s quarterback situation when the injury report is released Thursday afternoon. Brandon Dawkins suffered bruised ribs against the Bruins, and Anu Solomon has been battling a knee injury for almost a month.
- Rodriguez said Arizona is “trying several other guys” at cornerback this week. Senior starter DaVonte’ Neal really struggled against UCLA. Sophomore Jace Whittaker has made some plays but has been inconsistent.
- Rodriguez said Arizona has made “a few” personnel changes to its struggling special-team units. That’s been a big point of emphasis this week after a poor performance vs. UCLA. Special teams have been a strength for Utah under Kyle Whittingham.
- Rodriguez on Utah losing starting center J.J. Dielman for the season: “We kinda know where they’re coming from.”
