Aliquippa’s Hayes commits to Penn State
It was during preseason practice in August that star Aliquippa running back Tiqwai “Tikey” Hayes said he would make a college decision after the season ended. But Hayes knew where he wanted to play, so he figured there was no reason to wait.
On Monday afternoon, Hayes announced he had made a verbal commitment to Penn State. Hayes made his announcement at Aliquippa High School, two days after he attended Penn State’s home game Saturday night against Iowa. He committed to Penn State’s coaches then. “I was going to commit after the season, but I couldn’t wait much longer,” Hayes said. “I was itching to hurry up and commit.”
Penn State was the first school to make a scholarship offer to Hayes when he was a freshman. Penn State assistant Terry Smith recruited Hayes and Hayes said Penn State was his No. 1 choice for a long time. “Pretty much forever,” he said. Hayes was one of the most heavily recruited running backs in the WPIAL in recent years. Earlier in September, he had announced a final list of schools that included
Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland and Michigan State. All had offered scholarships to the 6foot, 197-pound halfback who is rated a four-star prospect and the No. 20 junior running back in the country by Rivals.com. Hayes’ commitment means Penn State has landed a top running back from the WPIAL in two consecutive classes. Belle Vernon senior Quinton Martin also is committed to the Nittany Lions.
“There’s going to be competition everywhere,” said Hayes,
who already has more than 4,000 career yards rushing. “All the colleges I had [been considering] have four-star and five-star [recruits] coming in. I feel like I’m talented enough to compete with those guys.”
Hayes said Ohio State was his second choice. He made his announcement in a theater room at Aliquippa High School, sitting at a table, surrounded by his family. He had eight hats in front of him for his eight finalists. He stood up and discarded some hats. He picked up the Pitt hat, only to put it off to the side, leaving Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan. He picked up an Ohio State hat and faked like he was putting it on his head. He grabbed the Michigan hat for a few seconds and put it down. Then he grabbed the Penn State hat, put it on his head and then took off a hoodie to show a Penn State shirt underneath. His family members also then showed off Penn State T-shirts.
Aliquippa coaches and many teammates who also were in the room cheered.
Hayes was emotional before announcing his college choice. He introduced members of his family and was brought to tears when saying a few words about some of them. Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield spoke before Hayes and his family entered the room. Warfield said he and his assistant coaches knew they had something special the first game Hayes played as a freshman. He was only a backup that season, but had
a long run the first time he touched the ball against Beaver Falls.
“The coaches looked at each other and said, ‘That’s different,’” Warfield said.
Warfield called Hayes a “role model” for Aliquippa’s program.
“He’s a four-star athlete and he’s a 4.0 student,” Warfield said. “And he’s one of the most humble kids I’ve ever met. ... He’s one of the kids I sell and he’s great not just for the Aliquippa program, but for the community.”
Hayes is the 27th Power Five conference recruit from Aliquippa, dating back to the class of 1989. Going back to the recruiting classes of 1984, Hayes is only the third Aliquippa player to choose Penn State. The others were defensive back Marques Henderson (1984 graduate) and Zuriah Fisher ( 2020 grad). Henderson was on Penn State’s national championship team in 1986. Fisher is a redshirt junior who is a backup defensive end at Penn State.
Hayes has been a starter at Aliquippa since a few games into his freshman year. He has been all-state twice and was selected the Pennsylvania Class 4A Player of the Year as a freshman. This season, he has rushed for 588 yards on 92 carries and scored nine touchdowns while also playing defense for the Quips, who are 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 4A by the Post-Gazette.
Hayes has 4,315 career yards on 589 carries and has scored 65 touchdowns. He has a chance to end up one of the leading rushers in WPIAL history.