Texas A&M Aggies' Spotlight Player of the Week: Dayon Hayes

Now on his third stop in his college journey, this Texas A&M Aggies pass rusher came alive in a 34-17 victory over Florida.

Sep 27, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Dayon Hayes (50) lines up in the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas A&M football has enjoyed rousing success thanks to its defense, a unit that has squeezed the life out of opposing offenses, holding its last three adversaries to just two conversions on third down across over twenty attempts.

Apart from a pair of first-quarter touchdown drives, the Aggies got their legs under themselves quickly, allowing just one field goal the rest of the night. All the units pitched in to sharpen their common resolve, but it was the defensive line that seemed unstoppable once again.

A man who led that charge was in defensive lineman Dayon Hayes, a transfer from Colorado who played his best game with A&M last Saturday. Hayes, a graduate transfer, headed to College Station after an injury derailed a change of scenery from Pitt.

Now an Aggie, Hayes showed the Gators what he's made of.

Dayon's Hay-Day

Nov 16, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Dayon Hayes (50) reacts to the crowd against the Boston College Eagles during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh won 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

After amassing 15 sacks through five years in college, Hayes left the northern U.S to head on down to Texas A&M, where he has been a key factor in the Aggies' resurgence in head coach Mike Elko's second year in College Station.

Against Florida, Hayes applied relentless pressure to Gators quarterback DJ Lagway, who he ultimately strip-sacked, which buried the chances of a comeback attempt. Not only did Hayes knock the ball out of Lagway's hands, but recovered the fumble he forced.

Following his fumble recovery, quarterback Marcel Reed was able to engineer a scoring drive that ended with a field goal, giving the Gators an even higher mountain to climb as the Aggies began to hold their own in the second half.

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, Hayes has been a veteran presence that the Aggies have fed off of, as age has been the spice A&M has needed to command the line of scrimmage. In 2024, the Maroon and White finished with 24 sacks in the regular season. Now halfway through 2025, the Aggies are sitting at 21, with Hayes accounting for two of them.

Elko has proven himself an expert at recruiting impactful players within his two seasons at the helm of the A&M program, evidenced by starting safety Marcus Ratcliffe, cornerback Dezz Ricks, defensive lineman Cashius Howell, among other players.

With such an admirable effort out of Hayes, the Aggies will be hoping he and the rest of the defensive line are able to put their best foot forward as they begin their road conquest, starting at Arkansas this Saturday.