Pat Narduzzi Says Injury to Pitt DL Dayon Hayes Not Season-Ending

The Pitt head coach refuted a report that Dayon Hayes would miss the remainder of the season.

PITTSBURGH -- Pat Narduzzi has a strict policy against commenting on or reporting any injuries sustained by his Pitt Panthers players, but does make one exception. If an injury is considered season-ending, Narduzzi will inform the media. That is not the case with standout junior defensive lineman Dayon Hayes. 

Narduzzi refuted a report published this morning by Pittsburgh Sports Now claiming that Hayes, who had suffered a knee injury, had opted to undergo surgery and would miss the remainder of the 2022 season while recovering for six to eight months. Hayes didn't travel with the team to Western Michigan this past week. 

“He wasn’t healthy," Narduzzi said. "Not going to get into injuries, but as you guys know, if somebody’s out for the year, I would tell you. Good information, bad information — he’s not out for the year or I would tell you.”

Nate Temple had been filling in for Hayes as a reserve behind starter Habakkuk Baldonado and when both of them went down with injuries of their own during the Western Michigan game, Bam Brima was the one to take their snaps. 

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