What 4-star Hayden said about finalists and UT
Dallan Hayden, the year’s Tennessee Titans DII-AAA Mr. Football award winner, has trimmed his college list down to four schools: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee.
The four-star junior running back said that he doesn’t plan to narrow the list any further before he makes a commitment. He said that he plans to commit before the start of his senior season.
Here’s what the state’s No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports Composite, said about his four finalists.
Notre Dame football
Hayden said that he’s been communicating regularly with Norte Dame since the Fighting Irish offered him in June. He said that he’s been building a strong relationship with running backs coach Lance Taylor.
“He’s a pretty good guy. He’s coached pros like Bryce Love and Christian Mccaffrey at Stanford,” Hayden said. “He definitely can see me as an all-purpose back because I can catch the ball and do something with it, like on screen plays and stuff. His coaching has stood out to me. He’s a really nice guy. I talk to him every week, we text all the time, he gets me on the phone at least once a week.”
Hayden also mentioned Notre Dame’s academic programs as a plus and said that he plans on studying business. He also said that Notre Dame’s football tradition makes it stand out.
“Their tradition is something serious,” Hayden said. “Like when you’re a kid, Notre Dame is one of those programs you want an offer from, them, Ohio State, Alabama, schools like that stand out. An offer from them is a pretty big deal.”
Ohio State football
Hayden said that Ohio State stands out because it has been making him feel like a top priority.
“After that Houston game they hit me with an offer. Their running back coach had called my coach and asked about me,” Hayden said. “Since that day I’ve been hearing from them non-stop. I hear from them pretty much every day. Running backs coach (Tony Alford), (coach) Ryan Day texts me all the time, their receivers coach texts me. They’re definitely making me feel like a top priority.”
He said he lived in Columbus for about a year when he was a baby and wants to visit again once the COVID numbers go down.
He said he was happy to see that Ohio State made the national championship game.
“It’s just eye-opening that that’s their standard,” Hayden said. “Winning is their standard. And when you’re part of a program that doesn’t take anything less it just makes you better.”
Oregon football
Oregon is the only school in Hayden’s top four recruiting him as an athlete.
“They said they can play me on either side of the ball,” Hayden said.
“The other ones are recruiting me as a running back. I’ll play anywhere, but I’m continuing to get better at running back. That was pretty much my first year running the ball. I was a DB before that for my whole high school career.”
Hayden also mentioned how Oregon consistently contends for conference championships.
“They’re always in the running for big bowl games and the Pac-12 championship,” Hayden said. “I like their coaching.”
Tennessee football
Hayden said that the Vols have been recruiting him as hard as anybody and that their focus on him was the reason they’re still in the mix.
“Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt has been recruiting me since my sophomore year of high school and they’re always telling me that I’m a guy that they want,” Hayden said.
“He’s really trying to keep everybody in-state and he says I’m one of the guys he wants to stay and not get out of the state. So I put them in there simply because he’s making me feel like a priority.”
Hayden, the son of former Tennessee running back Aaron Hayden, said that he feels the Vols can turn things around if they keep up their recruiting momentum.