By Brian Hamilton
Justice Hayes apparently had made his decision before he left Notre Dame's campus a couple weeks back. All that was left was to announce it to the rest of the world.
The Irish officially snagged their third top-100 recruit in the Class of 2011 when Hayes, a running back from Grand Blanc, Mich., announced his commitment to the program during a Friday news conference at his high school.
"Basically I told (the Irish coaching staff) when I went down that I was ready, that this is the school I wanted to go to but I wasn't going to make it public until my press conference," Hayes told Irish Illustrated. "I just felt like it was the right fit for me."
Justice Hayes apparently had made his decision before he left Notre Dame's campus a couple weeks back. All that was left was to announce it to the rest of the world.
The Irish officially snagged their third top-100 recruit in the Class of 2011 when Hayes, a running back from Grand Blanc, Mich., announced his commitment to the program during a Friday news conference at his high school.
"Basically I told (the Irish coaching staff) when I went down that I was ready, that this is the school I wanted to go to but I wasn't going to make it public until my press conference," Hayes told Irish Illustrated. "I just felt like it was the right fit for me."
A 5-foot-10, 175-pound tailback, Hayes rushed for 1,295 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. He becomes Notre Dame's 13th commitment for
2011.
Rivals.com rates Hayes as the No. 75 prospect overall nationally, while ESPN ranks him as the No. 22 running back in his class.
One significant upside in Hayes' view: The spread offense run by first-year Irish coach Brian Kelly mirrors the one run at Grand Blanc.
"We run the same exact offense," Hayes told Irish Illustrated. "I watched some of their spring game and saw the same stuff we do at high school. The same things I perfect now I can do at Notre Dame."
Rivals.com rates Hayes as the No. 75 prospect overall nationally, while ESPN ranks him as the No. 22 running back in his class.
One significant upside in Hayes' view: The spread offense run by first-year Irish coach Brian Kelly mirrors the one run at Grand Blanc.
"We run the same exact offense," Hayes told Irish Illustrated. "I watched some of their spring game and saw the same stuff we do at high school. The same things I perfect now I can do at Notre Dame."
500: One player hits and the others spread out into a field. Catching a fly ball is worth 100 points, catching it on one hop is worth 50 and catching a grounder scores 25 points. First one to 500 wins and is next to hit. If you go over 500, you start over at zero.