Old Soul Daelin Hayes Thankful For The Notre Dame Experience
As a former prime recruit in 2016, and even issued a fifth star by Rivals, Daelin Hayes’ physical and athletic prowess has never really been in question.
On the Notre Dame Pro Day March 31, those individual skills were reaffirmed when he did 26 reps of a 225-pound bench press despite having undergone multiple shoulder surgeries, posted a 32.5-inch vertical jump, a nine-foot, 11-inch broad jump and ran a 4.69 40-yard dash at 6-3, 253 pounds.
He also elevated his stock in the prestigious Senior Bowl in January in which his production that week “worked his way into day two [second- and third-round picks]” of this year’s draft, per ESPN analyst Todd McShay.
“What he does is perfect for the Seattle Seahawks defense, now the [Dallas] Cowboys defense with Dan Quinn going as the coordinator, because he can play at five-technique, playing inside a little bit, he can play the edge and set the edge, he can rush the quarterback, and he also can drop into coverage,” McShay said. “He brings a lot of versatility. Notre Dame utilized him really well this year.”
In Hayes, though, a franchise will be getting so much more than a versatile football player. Character results are not necessarily publicly posted like the other “measurables,” but they are highly valuable to team culture.
The recipient of this year’s Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award and a Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Finalist, Hayes’ involvement beyond football has included active involvement in the Robinson Community Learning Center in South Bend, teaching a twice-weekly class last fall at the Center, working with fourth- and fifth-graders on how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner.
Among his other volunteer efforts through the years were at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, South Bend Center for the Homeless, Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County, a volunteer to read weekly at Studebaker Elementary School (first-graders) and a mentor at the South Bend Juvenile Detention Center.
Giving back is a priority in Hayes’ life that he credits to his mother, Lakeshia, who gave birth to him as a 19-year-old college student and, as he stated, “sacrificed her youth” in a single-parent household to raise him and a couple of younger brothers with strong hearts and sound minds.
“She sacrificed a lot,” Hayes said. “It started with that example and paying it forward. I wouldn’t be here without countless sacrifices from family, grandparents, mentors and coaches, so who am I to take those opportunities and not be able to pay it forward to the next kid, the next generation?
“To be able to serve as a voice of hope, encouragement, love, to give that back — because that was given to me to where I’m at — I’m just extremely thankful and humbled to serve this community. That is a vital part to who I am as a man.”
Classified as an old soul because of his wisdom beyond his age, Hayes gained an early perspective on heartbreak in athletics and life. From his sophomore through senior years in high school, he barely played more than a half-dozen full games either because of shoulder injuries or other obstacles.
While many a star athlete in high school basks in the adulation and attention, Hayes gained a far different perspective. He quickly learned how football, or anything else, can be quickly taken from someone’s life.
“What I learned throughout that process and what kind of helped me through this year was that when you put in the work … you do so without any type of guarantee of an opportunity,” he said. “You do that just because that’s what the game is owed. You put in the work, you put in the time, you dedicate yourself to something because that’s what the game requires.
“There’s no entitlement … it may not play out the way you want it to play out. But just because you work hard, that doesn’t mean the chips are going to fall your way. It may take three, four, five years, you never know how long you might be in your grinding process. You do so and you stay the course. You persevere and you remain resilient.
“It’s not often that a 14- or 15-year-old is kind of like looking at his football mortality in the eye. At that point you’re just kind of getting started. But that in a lot of ways shaped my decision to want to attend a school like Notre Dame where I was going to be refined on the field and off the field.
“To be able to compete in the classroom with some of the brightest minds to be around, to graduate with a Notre Dame degree, to be a Notre Dame guy — and then turn around and beat Clemson Saturday night on prime time.”
Just when he was playing his finest football early in 2019, another shoulder injury sidelined Hayes, resulting in a medical redshirt. Football was taken away again, and then in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic there was no guarantee through the spring and right into September that there would even be a season.
Overcoming past obstacles helped make Hayes an ideal leading voice for the team on staying locked into the day-to-day process that helped result in a second College Football Playoff bid in three years.
“This last year at Notre Dame is really why a 17-year-old kid makes the decision to attend a place like this,” Hayes reflected. “It was not only for the football aspect but to be refined as a young man on the field, off the field and spiritually.
“The first goal I had when I stepped on campus was to become a captain, and I was able to achieve that. Another goal I had was to be able to impact the community around me, and I was able to achieve that as well. And obviously the football aspect that came full circle as well.
“To be able to lead a group of men who at no point throughout this year were we ever promised an opportunity to compete, we were stripped of the opportunity to really bond as a team, to have the coaching structure, the academic structure that we had grown accustomed to … never given any solid promise to put that on display.
“… When I reflect on my time at Notre Dame, this is why I chose to come here. It was a special year and I’m just thankful for it. I’m grateful for how things shook out this year because it really was a testament to our buy-in, our traits.
“Coach [Brian] Kelly preaches to us to be smart, gritty, to have laser focus, to always have attention to detail and to have a great attitude. Our team embodied that and it really showed.”
A confident orator, Hayes said he has no idea yet what his future beyond football will hold. However, the one guarantee is that it will involve service to others.
Just as it did at Notre Dame.
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