 | A Penn Stater`s Scoop on Michael Hayes2003-05-02
As a somewhat recent graduate of The Pennsylvania State University ("We Are..."), I`m totally addicted to the Chicago Bears & Penn State football ? and I can tell you a thing or two about Michael Haynes.
JoePa fed the NFL with some pretty special talent this year. Six of the Top 57 picks not only strapped on the pads for the Blue & White, but they all earned their degrees as well.
One of those guys ? Jimmy "Grizzly Bear" Kennedy ? would`ve been an absolutely awesome value at No. 13, and he`d do wonders in our long-term efforts to keep HURTlacher clean and free to unload into ballcarriers all over the field. However, I`m not sure he`d provide the most immediate impact for this team.
A few years ago, there was a certain buzz coming from the Western part of Pennsylvania. People were talking about this superstar sophomore in Pittsburgh, how they had to see this kid`s insane athletic ability on the football field. By the time he was a senior at North Hills HS, every college coach in America would`ve traded their top assistant to get LaVar Arrington on campus.
Michael Haynes never had that luxury. He never had the chance to make a name for himself the way LaVar did. His father had a number of responsibilities in the military, so the Haynes family was constantly picking up shop and relocating in and out of the country. Football wasn`t even his biggest sport. Who is this guy?
But, when he was a senior in New Jersey, people began to take notice. Approaching the end of the recruiting season, Michael Haynes` stock went public. He was quickly rising as one of the hottest recruits in the country ? similar to what happened to Omar Easy (a soccer player from Jamaica who came out of nowhere to run wild on prep football fields across Mass.).
In the end, Michael Haynes picked Penn State. We knew his stock was on the rise, but we didn`t understand what type of student-athlete we were bringing in until we saw his recruiting video. That`s when our jaws dropped. Wow, what an athlete. 6-4, 240 with 4.6 speed. Where do you play him at? TE? FB? DE? Both sides? Everyone had a different opinion, but Michael took his physical abilities and started his young career at FB.
But it didn`t take long before the weight room converted him into a defensive lineman. As a redshirt freshman, Michael Haynes was backing up Courtney Brown (Browns) and Brad Scioli (Colts). As a redshirt soph, he showed flashes of his special ability and led the BigTen in sacks for most of the season despite not starting.
At this point, Michael Haynes was definitely one of my favorite "up and coming players," if not THE up and coming player, and the thought of him starting full-time as a junior had most of us drooling. He was poised for a break-out junior season and the whole nation would know his name and he was supposed to earn All-American status and probably go pro.
But his junior year didn`t go as planned. It seemed the team was split in two and nobody was having fun out there. Turns out, towards the end of his sophomore year, one of his teammates got into a fight with another athlete or something, and Mike saw it all go down. As such, and the police requested that Mike testify against his teammate. He really didn`t have much choice, but he did the honorable thing and told the truth. I think that distanced him from a couple teammates and he just didn`t seem like the same guy out there. He had just 4 sacks in a rough season.
Going into 2003 ? his senior year ? the team disposed of all bad apples, and under the leadership of guys like Jimmy Kennedy, Larry Johnson, Michael Haynes, Zack Mills, etc... the team said enough is enough and it`s time to get back to the glory days. So they worked like dogs in the offseason and supported and encouraged one-another. I saw Mike Haynes out at a popular State College bar called "The Lion`s Den" one night, and the aspiring vetinarian/football star was drinking a bottled water while proving to be one of the nicest guys you could meet.
DT Jimmy Kennedy entered the 2003 season with all the hype on the DL (and justifiably so), but Michael Haynes was getting no attention of any kind. Seems everyone forgot the flashes of brilliance he displayed as a sophomore, and they figured he was just a "pretty good player" after that funky junior season.
But, with a fresh new attitude, Michael Haynes had a huge year and edged out his guy Jimmy Kennedy as the Big Ten`s most dangerous guy when he was voted Defensive Player of the Year. He had 7 forced fumbles (should`ve been 8, but the ref`s ruined an incredible individual play when Haynes stole the ball from Jamaal Lord in the Nebraska game), and just proved to be relentless on QB`s all year long. I taped most of the games and it seems like every time I focused on Haynes, he was abusing the OT. He`s got a great combo of speed and power. He runs around OT`s so easily and gets them off balance. Then they start sitting back on their heels, and he goes into a full-blown bull-rush, throwing the OT to the side in pursuit of the QB. Nifty little combo move he`s got there, he`s definitely got some sharp tools to play with in the NFL.
But the reason why you guys never heard of him until yesterday is the same reason why college football coaches never heard of him until late in his senior year. I live out here in NYC and the Post was talking about how Giants GM Ernie Accorsi was primed to trade-up to acquire that great pass-rusher they sorely needed. The guy they targeted: Michael Haynes. The G-Men wanted him bad, but the asking price turned out too steep ? a second round draft pick.
So don`t worry, fellow Bears fans, we got a gem in Michael Haynes. I whole-heartedly and unequivocally give him an objective two thumbs up. And Big Mike had a great quote talking about restoring the glory to... Da Bears! Trust me, fellas ? you`ll love this kid in Soldier Field.
Article by: Fletch
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