Summer decision for Isaac Hayes

Mendota Heights (Minn.) St. Thomas Academy offensive lineman Isaac Hayes is attracting interest from a wide range of colleges with prestigious academic institutions and tradition-rich football programs clamoring for his attention.

The 6-3, 270-pound Hayes has seen his offer totals rise to 11, with Boise State being the most recent to join the list. Interest from additional schools has continued to flow his way this spring.

"Oregon has come by, Wisconsin, Harvard, Northwestern, Minnesota," Hayes reported. "Oregon State is coming up in a couple weeks, Vanderbilt is coming up and then a couple other schools are coming up. I've been getting a lot of interest from Auburn, Oregon, Nebraska, Boston College, Georgia Tech."

How things progress during the Spring Evaluation Period, and particularly what new offers come his way, with dictate Hayes' next steps in the recruiting process.

"I'm going to keep my options open right now and probably start narrowing things down toward the end of the school year," Hayes said. "Depending on if they offer, Stanford would definitely be in the mix. Virginia Tech and Minnesota will probably be in the mix, but it all depends on this spring and how many offers I pick up."

"When spring recruiting is over, I'm going to plan my summer around that. I want to [commit] before my senior season, preferably in July.

Hayes carries a 3.2 GPA in the classroom and is interested in pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree in college. Finding a place that will help him achieve both his academic and athletic goals is paramount.

"Right now, football and academics are balanced," Hayes said. "I want to go to a good academic school and play big-time football.

"Most of the schools that have offered me, like Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Air Force, Army and Navy, have pretty good academics. I'm going to school more for the education, and I'll go as far as I have to to get a good education."

Thus far in his high school career, Hayes has been primarily an offensive player, but his size and athleticism could translate to the defensive tackle position as well and some college coaches are intrigued by his possibilities there.

"I'm more comfortable with o-line, but I'm not limiting it to one position," Hayes said. "Northwestern is saying d-line, then Minnesota is saying offensive line or defensive line. Stanford was talking about d-line a couple months ago, but I think they are talking about o-line now."