In his sophomore year with the Tennessee Titans, the versatile William Hayes from High Point will be playing defensive end amidst personnel changes.
Hayes will no longer be joined by defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who moved on to play for the Washington Redskins, and defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, who assumed the position of head coach of the Detroit Lions.
However, Hayes does not anticipate many personal changes on the field.
“I don’t think my role is really going to change,” Hayes said.
“I just made a huge transition from my game last year to this year. It’s a difference from night and day, and then I’m playing a lot better,” he said.
According to a recent USA Today article, Hayes is considered to be the next big success story for Jim Washburn, the Titans’ defensive line coach.
“I still have the same role, but I’m just being used a lot more,” Hayes said.
“I was young last year, and I came from a system where I was able to do what I wanted to do at WSSU, but now I have to do things the Titan way.
“That was my biggest transition, realizing I can’t do everything my way.”
Another transition for Hayes came in the physical form.
He intensified his conditioning, and said his weight will fluctuate during the season between 260-265 pounds.
Last year he weighed 278 pounds.
“In my offseason, I was back and forth a lot,” Hayes said.
“When I was at home, I was working out at Velocity [a fitness center] in Greensboro, and when I was in Tennessee, I was working out with the team.
“Majority of my fat turned into muscle. I definitely got a lot stronger because I went from being one of the strongest people on my team to the strongest person on my team. I definitely put in work.”
Hayes said he is determined to avoid a sophomore slump this season.
“I’m just making sure I’m outworking everybody every day,” Hayes said.
“I’m going in on my day off trying to get ahead of the game. I definitely want to be successful. Once you get content, that’s when you get gone.”
He finished his rookie campaign on the Titans squad with 13 total tackles, one sack, and one pass defended in eight games.
After four games in his sophomore season, Hayes has already matched last year’s total tackles with 13 and 1.5 sacks.