Pitt Expects Big Second Half from Dayon Hayes

Pitt Panthers defensive end Dayon Hayes is close to a breakout, according to his coaches.

PITTSBURGH -- As has been the case with many levels of the Pitt Panthers' defense so far this season, defensive end Dayon Hayes has struggled to find the kind of consistent success that has 

Make no mistake, Hayes has been solid - tied for second on the team in sacks with two and passes defended with two as well, trailing just a pair of defensive backs - but he has not lived up to his expected billing as a star pass rusher just yet. His coaches, however, believe that next leap is coming. 

"Dayon will get better. It’s his first year starting too," head coach Pat Narduzzi said. "He’s had some guys in front of him the past couple years so it’s his opportunity to shine and he’ll get better as the year goes on.”

Hayes, a former four-star recruit and top-10 player at his position in the class of 2020, has had to wait patiently to make his mark on this program. He came on strong towards the end of 2022, notching 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the regular season finale, but the hasn't been the kind of carryover into a breakout 2023 season just yet.

Narduzzi thinks Hayes has been in the position to make the kind of splash plays that his great predecessors - Patrick Jones, Rashad Weaver, Ejuan Price and more - made with frequency and it all comes down to simply finishing plays and tackles, something the defense as a whole has struggled with as well. 

“Again, it’s called finishing the play and Dayon knows it," Narduzzi said. "There’s no one who feels worse about not finishing some of those plays and he’s had opportunities. The big thing for us as coaches is to put him in position to make plays and then, after that, you have to finish it."

Despite the relatively slow start, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge has seen great strides from the redshirt junior. He has a ways to go before he can consider himself a peer of some of the great players who came before him as a defensive end at Pitt but he's headed in the right direction. 

Patridge and the rest of the Panthers believe that progress, made quietly for now, will translate to a loud second half for the former blue-chip recruit who is still fitting in as a first-year starter. 

“He’s doing good things. He’s better than he was earlier, he’s better than he was a year ago," Partridge said. "He’s got a long way to go until his ceiling but I’m excited to help him reach that ceiling. He’s working at it and I’m proud of the way he’s approaching it.”

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