The 17 most valuable Arizona Wildcats football players of 2017: No. 10

OK, back from the holiday break and ready to resume our countdown of the 17 most valuable Arizona Wildcats of 2017.

Before we go any further, some reminders:

“Most valuable” does not necessarily mean “best.” Rather, we’re defining it as the contributions and traits that most influence winning football. They include talent, leadership and projected role and production.

Newcomers were not eligible for the list. Although many might become major contributors this year, especially on defense, their roles are just too difficult to predict in June.

NO. 10: S ISAIAH HAYES

Ht/Wt/Yr: 6-0, 180, sophomore

Comment: Hayes is the second sophomore safety to crack the top 17, joining classmate Tristan Cooper. Both are up-and-coming players and projected starters who will be expected to take on meatier roles this season.

As the projected free safety – the traffic-directing literal last line of defense – Hayes will play a particularly important part.

He wasn’t completely ready to take on that responsibility last year … but ended up doing it anyway. Hayes displaced veteran Jarvis McCall Jr. in the fifth game and started seven of the final eight contests.

Despite missing large chunks of two of those starts because of injuries, Hayes ranked sixth on the team with 36 tackles, including 2.5 for losses. He did not have an interception or a pass breakup; that’s an area where he clearly can improve.

Hayes also has room for physical growth. He was about 160 pounds when he enrolled at Arizona in January 2016, played at about 180 and was encroaching on 190 during spring practice. He missed portions of the previous spring – on the field and in the weight room – because of a shoulder injury.

Referring to Hayes and his fellow safeties, position coach Jahmile Addae said: “When we got him in the fall and he’s fresh off a high school field and we put him out against 22-year-old, 23-year-old grown men, there’s a difference there. The weight room is probably going to be the biggest difference for my room. And then on the field, they’re starting to see things a lot faster than they have in the past. They’re playing proactively, not reactively, so they’re seeing things before they happen. I’m pleased so far with our progression. We’re not where we want to be. But if we continue at this pace, we’ll be in a good place.”

Hayes is the son of former NFL defensive back Chris Hayes, who told me last October that Isaiah always has had a “little-man complex” from trying to keep up with his older brother. Despite not being as strong as he needed to be, Hayes played with reckless abandon as a freshman.

“Size is overrated in my mind,” he said. “It depends on your heart, what you have inside and up top. It’s really how you approach it, if you come in 100 miles per hour downhill.

“All my life, I’ve never really been the big guy on the field. But I’ve always had the heart and the mindset that I was the biggest on the field.”

Coaches would rather work with an overly aggressive player than the alternative; as Rich Rodriguez has stated many times, he’d rather tell them “whoa” than “sic ’em.”

Hayes has the desired aggressiveness. If the game slows down a bit for him – which it typically does for second-year players – he can play with more control. That would help him stay healthy – and make more plays.

Assuming the former comes to pass, the latter should follow, making Hayes one of the 10 most valuable Wildcats of 2017.

THE 17 MOST VALUABLE WILDCATS OF 2017