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Notre Dame Encouraged By The Possibilities With Daelin Hayes

Daelin Hayes' shoulder surgery will keep him from participating in contact drills this spring.
Daelin Hayes' shoulder surgery will keep him from participating in contact drills this spring. (BGI/Andrew Ivins)

Last spring, associate head coach Mike Denbrock quipped that the move of then-freshman Jerry Tillery from offense to defense relegated the assistant to “tears.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if linebackers coach Mike Elston is left in a similar situation if freshman Daelin Hayes transitions from linebacker to defensive end.

“I’m definitely going to fight [to keep him at linebacker],” Elston said Wednesday. “But he’s a Whopper away … he’s 250 pounds. He has to slow down on training table if I’m going to keep him at linebacker.”

Notre Dame revealed during its National Signing Day festivities that the early enrollee will not be a full go for spring practice, which begins March 16, after undergoing shoulder surgery last fall.

With Hayes’ build, the Irish could see him contributing as a rush player in 2016, even if his position is no sure thing at this point.

“He’s a rare talent, special breed kid,” defensive line coach Keith Gilmore said. “He’s a freshman that probably could do it. He’s got enough athletic ability, he’s 250 pounds. If there is a freshman that can come in and help us on the defensive line, he’s one of those guys that can do that.

“He’s a gym rat type guy, so he’s in here doing extra work on the weekends, learning the defense. He’s a prototype and will do everything possible to get himself ready to play.

“He’ll do some things in spring practice … he will be able to run around and do some physical things, but not hitting. He’ll be ready in the summer when it’s time to go.”

Hayes, a five-star according to Rivals.com, has impressed head coach Brian Kelly with his determination.

“We're really excited about him. He's a bright, articulate kid. He knows what he wants. The thing I like about Daelin more than anything else is if you give him something that is really definitive and tangible, he's going to go after it,” Kelly said. “And it's an approach that I love about a kid at that age, and he'll work towards that.

“Whatever it's been, you know, I want to be a mid-year enrollee, I want to go to Notre Dame. Once he had settled on that, there was nothing that was going to get in the way of it, and that's why we're going to really enjoy coaching him and his experience.”

Hayes’ versatility could be invaluable in determining how much he plays this fall — assuming he does not suffer another injury.

“We just feel like with the shoulder surgery, he hasn't really been able to weight train,” Kelly said. “He's already a pretty big kid. He's only going to get bigger. We just think that he has such a range of positions that he can play. We're just going to kind of let it naturally happen, and where there's an area that he can help us, I think we all know that getting after the quarterback would be a great start for him.”

That’s an area in which Notre Dame could use some assistance, and Hayes is the perfect candidate to pitch in.

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