Ryan Hayes – April 29, 2023
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Saturday, April 29, 2023
T Ryan Hayes
(I wanted to know about position versatility and can you play inside? Are you going to play left tackle? Can you play right tackle? What have the Dolphins told you about your role?) – “I don’t know a ton about what they want me to do yet, but I’m definitely – I’ll play anywhere. I can play tackle. Played tackle – both tackles a little bit in college – mostly left, but I’d be open to moving inside, wherever gets me on the field and helps the team win. So I’m open.”
(Do you have any experience – extensive – I know you just said you played on the right side, but any extensive experience moving around – high school or earlier in your career?) – “In high school, I was actually – I came into college as a tight end, so I actually hadn’t played any o-line until I got to Michigan. And then for my first year I played on the right side and then the last four years I was mainly left tackle.”
(For those of us who have not yet studied your film, how would you describe what we’ll probably see?) – “I think I’m a smart player. I know where I’m going at all times. That allows me to know my angles, so I think I play fast. It allows me to play extremely fast and use my athleticism to an advantage. And every play I’m out there, I’m going to finish as hard as I can to the whistle. So you’re going to get a hard-working guy that flies around the field.”
(Is there an NFL lineman that you have enjoyed studying especially I don’t know, maybe a former Michigan guy? Anything like that?) – “Yeah, I kind of like to watch the top guys around the league at other positions. Guys like Trent Williams, guys like that. But I definitely have watched a ton of Terron Armstead. We had an old coach that used to coach, so we watched a lot of his old film so it’s really going to be awesome getting in that room with him and learning what he has for me.”
(Who was the coach and what was his position on the staff?) – “It was Bret Ingalls with the Saints.”
(I was looking at some of your background here. I saw conference player of the year in basketball, conference pitcher of the year in high school. How do you think playing multiple sports and excelling at that really helped you on the football field?) – “I was always competing year-round. I think that’s what I love to do. I just loved sports growing up so that kept me busy, kept me doing all kinds of things. I think it got me prepared for the next level, switching to o-line – I had never done that before, but did so many things already that I think I was prepared for it. So I’m super excited for this next challenge.”
(I also saw that your dad was a guard at Central Michigan and your mother was a hooper, an All-American hooper. Who do you think you got more of your athletic ability from – Mom or Dad?) – “My dad would say the same thing, but definitely a little more from my mom. (laughter)”
(I wanted to ask you, what are you weighing now? Because when I saw your weight, I was kind of intrigued that you’re under 300 pounds. Is that something that’s hard for you to do, to keep on weight as a former tight end?) – “No, actually right before I got to the Combine, I got a little food poisoning like I’ve never had before. So I lost a little bit of weight. It was kind of hard to get back on right before. But at my pro day, I weighed in at 305 and right now I’ve been between 305 and 310. So that’s not an issue. It was just kind of a weird thing. Bad timing.”
(And I wanted to ask you also about what is the Michigan program, because they’ve got a good reputation for producing offensive linemen? How do you feel that helped you in this process and what has the draft process been like?) – “The draft process has been up and down. I mean, obviously I was trying to take everything in because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But from Michigan, I think it prepared me really well for this process. We run a lot of the same schemes I think that we were being taught and asked to talk about through the process. Obviously we get great coaching there, so I don’t think I could have picked a better place to be at to get ready for this next step.”
(So you ran a lot of wide zone schemes?) – “We didn’t run a ton. I wish we ran a little more wide zone, but we had success with inside zone and gab scheme. But I definitely think my game will translate to wide zone. I’m really looking forward to running a lot more of that down in Miami.”
(You’re from Michigan. What are you looking forward most to from the transition from Michigan to South Florida?) – “Definitely just nice weather all the time. That’ll be great for me. I was hoping to get down there somewhere warm and it’s definitely a great place to be.”
(And can you speak a little bit on Coach Jim Harbaugh, and what he has taught you during your career at Michigan?) – “I think Coach Harbaugh has just taught us, he runs his program like he would a professional organization. I think that just I think that’s why so many Michigan players have success at the next level because we’re already kind of primed for what to expect. Not totally, but I think he just does a really good job of having it be business-like and result-oriented.”
(What were your initial reactions when you found out that you were getting drafted by the Dolphins?) – “I was super excited. Big weight off my shoulders. I didn’t know exactly if that’s what they were calling for or not, so I was just super happy when they told me they were taking my name off the board. I couldn’t really explain the feeling.”
(Were teams calling you about signing as an undrafted free agent at that point in draft?) – “I was hearing some rumblings from my agent but didn’t really know what was going on yet. But I knew it was getting towards the end.”
