Hayes comfortable at Michigan State

Five-star linebacker Daelin Hayes took the last of his planned official visits this past weekend to Michigan State, which was also the first school to offer him a scholarship back during his sophomore year.

"I've known them for so long, so it was real comfortable," Hayes said. "I know the coaches very well, I know the players very well, I know a lot of the freshmen coming in and a lot of the commits as well. If I were to end up there I would be very comfortable with everybody."

This past weekend was Hayes' first visit to East Lansing since attending the Spartan's spring game last April. The recruiting pitch from the Michigan State staff has remained constant throughout his recruitment.

"It doesn't really vary that much from school to school," he said. "Every school has their selling points and Michigan State's was, "we've been here since day one, you're a special player to us and a guy that would be a difference-maker.'

"Coach (Mark) Dantonio and Michigan State have been very consistent, I'm very comfortable with them and it feels almost like home," Hayes said. "I sat down, talked with Coach Dantonio and we played a game of pool. It's real down-to-earth at Michigan State."

Due to the close proximity of the Michigan State campus to his home, Hayes is already very familiar with many of the players on the Spartan's roster.

"I was with Tyriq (Thompson), but I also spent a lot of time with Tyson (Smith) and spent a lot of time with Kyonta (Stallworth) as well," Hayes said. "The consistent message was it's going to be hard, obviously, but that's the nature of the game adjusting from being an 18-year old kid playing with 24-year old men."

Hayes took his first official visit to Notre Dame in October and his second to Ohio State the weekend of Nov. 7. With all three of his planned official visits now complete, he now looks toward making a decision with his mid-year high school graduation looming.

"I think I will have a decision date for everybody pretty soon," Hayes said. "In December, for sure."

In the meantime, Hayes plans to return to Ohio State this weekend for an unofficial game visit. An unofficial game visit to Michigan State for the last weekend on November is also a possibility. No head coach in-home visits have been scheduled, but Hayes plans to commune with his family and decide which school he will sign with.

"I am just looking for a great opportunity, obviously, on the football field," Hayes said. "But my biggest thing, I'm taking football out of the equation with every school and thinking if I was to just be a student at this school, would I enjoy being here and what opportunities would this school present graduating with my degree?"

The 6-foot-3, 254-pound Hayes is ranked as the No. 13 overall player in the 2016 class. He played the first three games this year for Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline before a shoulder injury prevented him from finishing out his senior season.

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