Oklahoma offers JUCO Running Back De’Chavon Hayes – But why? (Includes his Coach’s Notes)
Posted on: October 29, 2013
Image from Hometeamsonline.com
When K texted me last night and told me that we had offered a running back, I gotta admit I wondered why. With the young talent we have and Perine committed and of course Starks and Mixon still available it led me to a lot of speculation about recruiting, injuries, etc. But after watching this guys film and talking to his coach, the only thing I was wondering is how anyone could watch his film and not pursue him. This Dude is absolutely sick.
You might as well call him Damiennan Filliams (or not). He’s got Finch’s wiggle, Clays size and patience and Damien’s speed…only faster. With the holes that our offensive line has been opening up lately, this young man could be a big play machine for us. Do yourself a favor and watch the tape. There’s a play where he takes a simple off tackle toss and just sets the field on fire, and while he’s got great breakaway speed, it’s unfair what he can do with his change of direction. Hayes is a safety’s worst nightmare in the open field, because he’s at top speed in every direction. He makes cuts that would blow out other back’s knees.
We asked Hayes’ running backs coach, Coach Bernie Ambrosavage, at Lackawanna if he saw what we saw and he said, absolutely. He said De’Chavon’s greatest attribute is something we noticed right away and mentioned above; “he never loses speed in any direction.” But he’s got size to go with that explosiveness. Coach Ambrosavage said Hayes’ is 5’11 185 lbs and felt like he could hold another 15+ lbs and still keep his freakish athleticism.
When I watch the tape, at 5’11” 185, he immediately makes me think of CJ Spiller and Coach Ambrosavage completely agreed. Usually you have a guy who has great top end speed and no wiggle, or a guy who’s all wiggle and quickness but not top end jets. Hayes has both. He’s straight lethal. Somebody should be slapped he’s so underrated. When we asked Coach Ambrosavage how he felt about his rating on some of the recruiting websites he just laughed. Jokes are funny.
Coach Ambrosavage went out of his way to talk about what a great kid Hayes’ is. He said he’s the kind of kid that gives 110% everyday and is a “true joy” to be around. Sounds like there is a chance he could be a December grad but mostly a May grad.
Oklahoma fans should really want this guy. Wow is all I can say. Wow.
3 Comments
Thanks Jy. great to hear. We’ve been wanting a speed back badly in this class. We still want Mixon or Starks in that order I believe. We also want adoree Jackson, but I dont’ see that happening. This kid just looks like the speed back we need. How are his hands? Can he catch on the run and is he also a potential return specialist too? I know that Coach Boulware want’s another one of those legit 4.4 guys with wiggle.
Yeah, he’s versatile enough to do all of those things. He returns punts and kickoffs for Lackawanna, and when you watch his film, he’s just filthy fast. He may be a little faster than 4.4 honestly. Really when you watch his film It makes you think of CJ Spiller.
JY, as we have talked about, a 4.4 in pads is blazing fast. Heck a 4.5 with wiggle, vision and strength in pads is NFL fast. Harvin wasn’t the fastest at the combine, but he’s so strong that he keeps his speed in pads and his vision, balance etc… is plenty good enough. That’s what Gundy is bringing in regardless of star rankings. I think the stars are a great start, but upside and fitting into YOUR program are much more important. Recruiting at OU is back and it will take another year or two to get us where we need to be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still play for championships. I really like this kids film and I’ll take your word about what type of player he is. Thanks dude.