By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Upon entering Auburn High School, Tommy Hayes was looking for something that he could do with his friends. Having played flag football in his younger days he decided to give football a shot and found that he and the sport clicked; it was also something that he came to really enjoy playing.

 “At 5 foot-10 and a 155 pounds I wasn’t that big, especially for a linebacker, but I was going to make it work,” he said. “I had no clue where I wanted to play and my freshman coach put me at linebacker. I fell in love with the position although I honestly can’t tell you why, but I’m happy that the coach made that decision back then.”

In addition to playing linebacker Hayes also was a running back for the Rockets, but that would quickly change when the team’s fullback got injured. Taking over as the team’s fullback, Hayes found that he loved the position as well, but just not as much as linebacker.

“I enjoying playing linebacker much more because of the hitting and playing a part on the defensive unit trying to hold the other team from scoring,” Hayes said. 

Although he didn’t know a lot about the game that first season, he made sure that he would learn as much as he could thus bringing him to where he is today as a senior. 

“As a freshman he had similar traits to how he plays today. He steps onto the field with a never give up attitude,” Auburn Coach Jeff Cormier said. “He’s a solid player at both positions and despite being undersized he finds a way to make plays. He’s been that way for four years; he’s a lead by example, character guy.”

Cormier went on to say that the coaching staff occasionally puts Hayes in positions where his size should be an issue, but the senior always come through and makes the plays needed to help the team be successful.

 “He goes about his business quietly; he may not have huge tackles or break away runs, but you can always count on him being there. He’s a hard-working kid on and off the field,” the Auburn coach said. “He’s the type of guy you may not notice, but when he’s not out there on the field he leaves a big hole to fill and I man this in a good way. We don’t have to worry about him not giving a total effort all of the time.”

In the early days, Hayes found himself getting bounced around on the offensive side of the ball but noted that he didn’t care where they put him as long as he was on the field with his teammates enjoying the game. During those days he didn’t consider himself a physical player, but things would change during his sophomore campaign. 

“The JV coach was coaching us up and gave me a couple of tips and I acted upon them during a game and realized that I could actually do this and wasn’t that bad,” the linebacker said. “That’s when I started to become physical and not afraid of contact; I was becoming a true linebacker.”

Although he was able to play a physical game with the bigger players, the opposition didn’t really see his talent until it was too late. They would see him lineup and thought that they were going to b able to take advantage of his size, but they were so wrong.

“I may be smaller, but I believe in my skills,” he said. “I also believe in the other 10 guys with me on defense – I know that they have my back as well as I have theirs.”

Coach Cormier believes that Hayes is a much better linebacker than a full back. At fullback, you can say he’s a complimentary player, but the coach says he is much more than that – he’s an important piece to the Auburn football team. 

Playing in his senior campaign for the Rockets Hayes would like to surpass the number of tackles (97) that Nathan Cook had last year. The now senior linebacker found Cook to be a really good leader and one that helped him considerably to improve his game. With that, he wants to honor his mentor by matching what he did last fall on the field for Auburn.

In addition to surpassing Cook’s 97 tackles, Hayes would also like to see Auburn win on Thanksgiving Day and earn a spot in the tournament. The Rockets have played in the State Tournament the last two seasons, but unfortunately have not made it out of the first round. Hayes is hoping that he can help his team turn things around in that aspect. Following the season, Hayes would like to sit down and figure out if collegiate ball is something that he might be able to do, but for right now it’s all in for Auburn football.