Pittsburgh's Dayon Hayes transfers to Colorado

One of the best edge players in the ACC joins Coach Prime and the Buffs

Sep 1, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Dayon Hayes (50) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Deion Sanders and Colorado snagged a major defensive addition with Pitt's Dayon Hayes announcing he would be Boulder bound on Sunday. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end will be reunited with his former teammate Samuel Okunlola. 

Hayes entered the portal as a graduate transfer. He had 45 tackles (10.5 for loss, four sacks, four pass breakups and a forced fumble last season. One of the ACC's most disruptive pass rushers who will be a welcomed addition to the Buffaloes defensive front. He was one of six transfer players who visited Boulder on Saturday and was reportedly impressed by the winning culture at CU.  

I WANT IT ALL #SkoBuffs 🦬#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/rUMt2FFzgG

— DayonHayes (@dayonhayes00) April 21, 2024

Hayes recently laid out his thoughts on why he was transferring away from Pitt. His response was very telling on the type of environment he was looking for at his next stop.

"It’s just that I don’t believe we can win now,” Hayes told Chris Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I believe we [were going to] win games, but I believe we are [in] a developmental stage. And I just can’t do that right now.”

Colorado has added two players since the mass exodus last week. The Buffs are expected to add at least two more transfers on Sunday. Hayes will be entering his final collegiate year.