ATHENS, Texas -- University of Arkansas offensive line target Garrett Hayes is one of the top 2020 prospects in the nation, but his way of thinking and style of play is more old school.
Hayes, 6-5, 295 pounds of Athens, Texas, is an ESPN 4-star prospect, the No. 22 offensive tackle and No. 177 overall prospect in the nation for his class.
He has more than 30 scholarship offers from Arkansas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida State, Nebraska, TCU, Oregon, Tennessee and others.
In today's social media age, most prospects are vocal about their accomplishments and scholarship offers. Hayes' Twitter account has only two tweets from him and two retweets with the last one coming May of 2018. Neither of his tweets are about recruiting or offers.
Hayes isn't one to toot his own horn.
"It really comes from my dad's side, it's really just simple," Hayes said. "My mom, she's talkative and all that, but me and my dad we're kind of simple. We like to think about it, talk with family about it, but we're going to be humble about it. We're not going to say very much or try to brag or anything. The college decision is really a family based decision. It really is and a personal decision."
He admits enjoying the recruiting process but isn't one to do a lot of interviews.
"The attention I'm fine with," Hayes said. "I just have a different way of handling it than most."
He's been selected to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 4, but don't expect him to make his college decision by picking a school from a table of caps.
"I won't be doing that," Hayes said. "Like I said, that's bragging, and that's not who I am."
Hayes' old school ways are also reflected on the field with mental and physical toughness that he also gets from his father, who works barefooted as a welder.
"His nickname is Barefoot Bubba," Hayes said. "He's been walking on different rocks and hot concrete for years, years and years. I used to, too, so my feet are pretty hard."
While some have a hard time dealing with coaches yelling in their ears, Hayes takes it in stride.
"They coach the way they need to coach," Hayes said. "They know what's best for us. You just have to be tough with that and just really keep going through it."
Hayes has recorded 47 pancake blocks in four games this season while not allowing a sack. Athens Coach Zac Harrell said Hayes' maximum effort and dominate play rubs some the wrong way.
"I have to tell the refs before every game, 'Hey, I know the coaches have told you 79 [Hayes' number] is probably playing dirty, but he's not,' " Harrell said. "He's just so much bigger, stronger and plays harder than everybody else."
Hayes' athleticism is among the best in the nation at his position. He has recorded 4.85 seconds in the 40-yard dash and placed sixth in the 275-pound weight division at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association state meet Division 2 in March. His bests of 385 in the bench press, 650 in the squat and dead lift are even more impressive since he's a four-sport athlete.
"He's one of the fastest kids on the team," Harrell said. "He's on our punt team, and we punted and he chased down a punt returner. We threw a pick in Week Four, and he [the] chased defensive back down on their sideline."
Hayes has visited Arkansas four times with his last being an official visit in early May, his only official visit he's taken so far.
"I may go down there for a game, but there's also other colleges I need to look into," Hayes said.
His second scholarship offer came from Arkansas after attending camp in Fayetteville in June of last year.
"I do have a good connection with the coaching staff," he said. "Arkansas feels like home. The place around the school itself, it's a really nice place."
A timeline for his college decision is uncertain.
"That's not decided yet, I'm still talking with my family about that," Hayes said.
Whichever school signs Hayes will be lucky to have him.
"If you could have a son, you would want him to be just like Garret Hayes because he does everything right," Harrell said.
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 09/27/2019