Charlie Partridge has been waiting for Dayon Hayes’ consistency to flash on the field for Pitt with legitimate production this season. He knew it was coming.
“You know, Dayon has come to work,” Partridge said last month. “He’s really grown up in front of my eyes. My dream, my goal for him is that you guys see that from a production standpoint. But all the really good ones that I’ve coached, there’s always a plateau in see-able production, but I am seeing a rise in execution and technique. And that will pay off in time. To his credit, he’s coming to work every day.”
And it finally arrived in the first half against Boston College, racking up three tackles (two solo), two tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup as Pitt took a 10-6 halftime lead.
Hayes entered the game with 34 tackles (18 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and two pass breakups — and he’s been impactful despite the modest sack totals this season.
He was impactful against Syracuse, despite not registering a sack against a Wildcat-centric offense, and he was impactful in the first half against Boston College.
He just finally finished those near misses that plagued him earlier this season. And Pitt will need him to keep it up in the second half against the Eagles.
And he was pulled for thinking about himself and not his responsibility. Let Castellanos escape for a first down when his responsibility was containment.
But he’s learning. Hail to Pitt.