As we continue our summertime film study of college football’s top players, I dove into Michiganleft tackle Ryan Hayes, who I tabbed as an early first-round pick in my way-too-early 2023 NFL Mock Draft back in April.
Michigan won the 2021 Joe Moore Award as the top offensive line unit and Hayes was a big reason for the Wolverines’ success. Hayes was second-team All-Big Ten in 2021 and has started 18 games at Michigan entering his fourth season. Hayes has the size and length the NFL scouts covet and is expected to take the jump in 2022.
Hayes was a tremendous all-around athlete in high school, excelling in baseball and basketball. Some people believe he could have been a standout college pitcher if he had decided to take that route. Playing offensive line has a lot of similar gamesmanship tactics as a pitcher, something that is no doubt useful to Hayes in the trenches.
Here’s hoping Hayes can put it all together in 2022 and cash in next spring. I did full All-22 tape analysis of four of his games last year and bits of others. Here are my thoughts.
STRENGTHS
- Hayes checks the boxes as a tremendous athlete and got better as the season progressed in Michigan’s ground and pound offense.
- Hayes plays extremely hard and will finish his opponents if he gets the opportunity in both run and pass blocking.
- Hayes is an excellent zone and frontside gap blocker and is fluid up to the second level and in space.
- His natural traits of size and length are a blessing as he will be matched up against guys with length.
- Hayes has excellent feet and takes good angles to his spot on pass sets.
- Hayes on occasion will short set his opponents and is very good at this with his length.
- He also shows flashes of great hand usage by using independent hands in pass pro and will need to continue to develop this against the double swipe rushers that he will see some in the Big Ten.
- Hayes has good feet in protection to get to the spot and is generally a solid anchor vs the power rushes and long-arms.
Great short set on the flea flicker as Hayes (No. 76) “jumps” his opponent to show run. He uses a high hand outside and a low inside hand to increase leverage. Hayes should use this technique more.
Hayes does a nice job knowing his 5-tech will pinch, based on the alignment of the defense, and seals him inside for a near-touchdown block on a power run to his side.
WEAKNESS
I’m not going to lie, Hayes’ 2021 film has some flaws and did not immediately line up with early projections of a first round pick. The good news is, all his mistakes are easily fixable.
- Hayes had a really rough game against Arnold Ebiketie and Penn State. Ebiketie was a second-rounder in the 2022 NFL draft and won with speed, power, and inside moves. For Hayes, that’s all part of the developmental process if you want to thrive at the next level. You’ll see guys like Ebiketie every week.
- Hayes will need to maximize his power by unlocking his hips and hands in his run fits. Hayes plays with a narrow base and he will need to widen his base in run blocking as you see him get tossed around against the more physical lineman. The wider your base is, the harder it is to get crumpled but that's an easy fix and tough because of his size.
- His hand usage in pass pro needs some work as he's not a huge puncher but will sometimes get in trouble punching his outside hand down the middle of the chest, a big no-no.
- I would love to see him change his angle and hand usage more on his pass sets as he would have as a pitcher. You can't throw a fastball on every pitch with much success as a pitcher just like you can’t give the defensive lineman the exact same look on every pass set.
IN SUMMARY
I could tell by watching the spring game thatHayes has spent a lot of time perfecting his craft since the season ended and I expect marked improvement in 2022. I hear from those in the Michigan program that Hayes has all the intangibles and work ethic to take his game to the next level and will now need to put it all together on film. I really like the way he finished the season and had a great game vs. multiple Ohio State and Georgia freakazoids.
I would definitely move my draft grade down into the second round based on 2021 but I feel good about what I’ve seen and heard about Hayes' progress and would not be surprised if he is a top 10 offensive lineman after this season.
Previous 2022 player Film Studies:
C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State: What makes C.J. Stroud among the best players in college football
Bryce Young, QB, Alabama: How Bryce Young can take another step
Will Anderson, EDGE, Alabama: The scariest player in college football is getting better
Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia: Georgia's junkyard defense now belongs to Jalen Carter
Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson: Still a big tool missing from the long-hyped Bresee
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State: The best Buckeye WR ever? JSN will make his case this fall
Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Miami: A budding superstar with QB3 potential in 2023
Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina: Josh Downs might have to be UNC's one-man show in 2022
Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State: Former 5-star Paris Johnson. Jr. returns to his natural home
Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern: Is an inside move at the next level next for Peter Skoronski?
Blake Brockermeyer is a College Football Analyst for 247Sports. He was an All-American OT at the University of Texas and was a first-round NFL Draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 1995. He was a defensive quality control analyst for SMU from 2018-2020. He has sons on the Texas (Luke) and Alabama (Tommy, James) football teams.
