Dayon Hayes is a defensive end who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Texas A&M.
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come. Played for three head coaches at three programs in six seasons: Pat Narduzzi, Deion Sanders and Mike Elko. Another came in 2025: SEC Defensive Line Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 3 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Utah State — Week 2, 2025.
Play style
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
17 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 4 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Texas A&M | 17 | 12 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 2024 | Colorado | 16 | 10 | 3.5 | 2.0 | -- |
| 2023 | Pittsburgh | 45 | 25 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 4 |
| 2022 | Pittsburgh | 13 | 9 | 4.5 | 3.5 | -- |
| 2021 | Pittsburgh | 16 | 9 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2020 | Pittsburgh | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -- |
| Career | 110 | 67 | 34.0 | 18.5 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-24vs UTSA | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-22vs Utah State | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 41-40@ No. 8 Notre Dame | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 16-10vs Auburn | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-17vs Florida | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-42@ Arkansas | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 49-25@ No. 20 LSU | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-17@ No. 19 Missouri | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-30vs South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 48-0vs Samford | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 17-27@ No. 16 Texas | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 12 | 4.0 | 3.5 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
21%4 sacksTFL rate
24%4 TFLHurry rate
35%6 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
37%4 of 10 pressures17 tackles · 4 for loss · 3.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Elko
Pass share
45.8%
407 pass / 482 run
Plays / game
68.4
13 games
Team sack rate
2.9%
377 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #179 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #11 of 16 SEC DEs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
The role got bigger.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Pat Narduzzi, Deion Sanders and Mike Elko.
