LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas State running back David Oku didn’t hesitate Saturday to give his assessment of new backfield teammate Rocky Hayes.
A week ago, Hayes was a reserve cornerback fighting for scout team repetitions before Coach Gus Malzahn switched the speedy freshman to running back prior to the Red Wolves’ 33-28 victory against Memphis on Saturday.
The result: Four carries for 68 yards, including a 33-yard reverse in the second quarter one play before quarterback Ryan Aplin threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jarboe that trimmed the Tigers’ first-half lead to 21-17.
“I don’t like Rocky right now,” Oku said, jokingly. “I really do not, especially with these reverses.”
Hayes, a 5-11, 117-pound native of Heflin, Ala., figures to carry the football more when the Red Wolves (1-1) play Nebraska (1-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
“You’ve always got to have a mind-set to be ready to come in and do your job,” Hayes said. “I just had to go do it.”
Malzahn and running backs coach Eli Drinkwitz made the switch last Tuesday, deciding that Hayes’ speed could be better utilized at running back instead of the secondary, where he was splitting time with sophomore Artez Brown while backing up Andrew Tryon.
“He’s the fastest guy on the field, the most electric guy on the field, and we had a couple plays for him,” Malzahn said. “He’ll be playing offense from here on out.”
If anything, the switch raises questions about the role of redshirt junior Sirgregory Thornton, considering he had only one carry for 17 yards in a season-opening loss at Oregon.
Hayes was used exclusively on reverses and sweeps Saturday, including twice from the slot position, in a typical part of ASU’s running game that relies on traditional run plays such as the dive, power, counters and sweeps but done by moving players around the formation and by using bits of motion.
“Obviously they didn’t give me the whole playbook,” Hayes said. “Coach Malzahn has a complicated playbook and I couldn’t learn everything in one week. They moved me in slowly, put me in certain plays.”
Hayes’ first carry was a 16-yard run to the left side with two receivers blocking downfield on ASU’s first drive, which ended in a 23-yard field goal by Brian Davis that cut Memphis’s lead to 7-3. He added his 33-yard run in the second quarter, and another 15-yard run on a reverse during the Red Wolves’ third-quarter drive to take a 24-21 lead.
“It wasn’t all me,” Hayes said. “The upperclassmen helped me through it. They blocked well on the perimeter and the line did a great job. It just made it easier on me getting the nerves out as a true freshman.”
Hayes’ presence was just a series of tweaks for ASU’s offense that were carried out last week.
“He made some really big plays that made a difference in the game,” Aplin said. “He’s just got a real knack for that when the ball is in his hands. That showed.”
Hayes welcomed the chance to contribute on offense.
“I wasn’t getting a lot reps on defense,” Hayes said. “I was just happy to get on the field and play anyway I can. I wasn’t getting redshirted, and I just wanted to contribute anyway I could.”
Running back isn’t a foreign position to Hayes, either. He rushed for 3,682 yards in three seasons and piled up 2,036 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Cleburn County (Ala.) High School.
In Alabama Class 3A football, it was custom for a team’s best athletes to pull double-duty,
“At small high schools, you play every position” Hayes said. “Throughout my high school career, I played both ways, so it was kind of like going back home.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/12/2012