WHY DAELIN HAYES IS RANKED NO. 15 IN THIS COUNTDOWN.

The senior was not among the 22 “starters” at the end of spring drills, and started only one of the 12 games he was available to play last year, the opening game 24-17 victory against Michigan

Regardless, one of the reasons why defensive end is the single strongest position group on the team is not only because seniors Julian Okwara (drop end) and Khalid Kareem (strong side end) already have been classified as potential first-round picks in various 2020 mock drafts, but also because Hayes’ presence provides NFL-caliber talent and excellent flexibility to the position group. His 72 career tackles (31 last year) actually are more than Kareem (63) and Okwara (59).