Hayes Expects A Relentless Effort On Saturday Night
It’s not a secret Saturday night’s game between Notre Dame and USC has some significant implications for both programs. Senior defensive end Jay Hayes has been a crucial part of the improved Irish defensive line and the 6-foot-3, 290-pounder is entirely focused on stopping Trojan quarterback Sam Darnold this weekend.
“You have to be relentless,” stated Hayes. “Going into this game, we are going to be relentless. This is a game to show our ability to be relentless. He likes to extend plays, so we are going to bring an end to him extending plays.”
Hayes and the Irish defense have made sure to take extra steps in their preparation for the Trojans offense. The defense is making sure to run to the ball in practice and even after the whistle.
“You keep learning,” Hayes said of preparing to stop the USC offense. “You keep training in practice. You keep running after the play. When they throw the ball, you have to run and get your conditioning in. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
The extra conditioning is good, but the depth on the Irish defensive line has made the difference this fall.
Notre Dame is no longer playing guys 80 snaps on the defensive front, and Hayes feels it has made all the difference.
“It’s good because everyone is going to be fresh,” Hayes said. “You want that. Everyone is going to have the appropriate production that we need.”
It’s been well documented that Hayes did have some struggles in the early portion of his career at Notre Dame. The Brooklyn native battled a lack of playing time over his first two seasons, but he stuck with it and is reaping the rewards in 2017.
“We all have them,” Hayes stated of struggles as a young player. “I think as a freshman it’s hard when you don’t play. It’s just freshman blues. You have to stick through it. Times change. You go from playing to not playing. You just have to identify those people and tell them to stick to the process.
“I had people spot me and tell me I had to stick to it.”
Despite the lack of playing time, Hayes stayed confident in his abilities and continued to work. Everyone is seeing the hard work pay off now, but it doesn’t mean he is content.
“I always have faith in myself,” explained Hayes. “I could do the things I’m doing now in the past, but I’ve improved so much, and I’m going to improve throughout the season. I’m happy with where I am at now. There is still a hunger to still improve.”
The work ethic has carried over to his defensive line room as Mike Elston has pushed each guy to be better each day. Notre Dame isn’t breaking new ground in preparation, but guys are being held accountable, and it’s made all the difference.
“Technique and film study has been crucial,” stated Hayes. “We go into a game, and we know the name of our opponents. We know the name of the tackle we’re facing. We know his tendencies and what he likes to do.
“It’s not really different than the last few years, but he’s on us. He knows if we’re watching film or not. You get into the meeting room, and you’re not watching film, he’s calling you out.”
Notre Dame fans have heard about traits for the last 10 months, and it’s paid off to this point in the season. Hayes and the rest of the team know the bar is set high at Notre Dame and they get to chase it this weekend in a rivalry game.
“The standard is about playing hard,” said Hayes. “You have to give it all for the guy next to you. We’ve seen the games where we have played to our standard, and you want to go out there no matter who the opponent is and play to the best of ability as a team.
“For us, we know how we can play and our identity as a team. When we face teams, we want to continue to show that identity of the team we are.”