With NLI day just barely in our rear view, Boise State fans didn't have to wait long for the 2016 recruiting class to kick off. Bryan Harsin sounded the commitment cowbell about a half hour ago—letting slip the hot new hashtag "B16BLUE" in the process. From there it didn't take long to learn the identity of the newest verbal commitment (a welcome change from mystery recruit-apalooza this past January)—defensive back Isaiah Hayes.
GO BRONCOS! 1 Great Call, 1 Great Decision, 1 Great Person! #FirstUp #B16BLUE pic.twitter.com/OR1aiRxuzI
— Coach Bryan Harsin (@bryanharsin) February 27, 2015
I am officially committed to Boise State! proud to be apart of the family. #GoBroncos @bryanharsin @CoachYatesBSU pic.twitter.com/RdatJawS95
— Isaiah C. Hayes (@Hayes_Era30) February 27, 2015
Hayes—who's listed anywhere from 5'10" to 6'0" and in currently in the 175 lb. range—hails from Calabasas High School in California and has seen his recruitment pick up considerably over the last few weeks. Most recently, Hayes was offered by Nevada, which took his offers list up to seven. Hayes also fielded offers from Indiana, Utah, Idaho, Kent State, and Alabama State. The Broncos offered the versatile defender less than a week ago, and were his fourth offer overall, but it appears that was the offer he'd been looking for and he pulled the trigger today. Last season for Calabasas, Hayes had 63 tackles (3 for loss), 1 INT, half a sack and 5 PBUs.
Boise State also offered Hayes' teammate, 2017 WR recruit Keyshawn Johnson Jr. a week ago and while Keyshawn might be a tougher sell...it sounds like Keyshawn's famous father helped steer Hayes toward The Blue.
Luv this quote from Keyshawn Johnson speaking to @GregBiggins "..Pac 12 schools are telling him to make sure Hayes doesn't commit yet-"(1/2)
— BroncoCountry.com (@Rafter17) February 27, 2015
" -because they still want to evaluate him and his response to that was, 'BSU is a better school, why would we want to wait for you'." (2/2)
— BroncoCountry.com (@Rafter17) February 27, 2015
Apparently, the younger Hayes has some good bloodlines of his own—his father Chris Hayes was a 10-year NFL vet and his brother, Chris Jr. is currently a walk-on cornerback at Oregon State.
We're sure to learn more about Isaiah in the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime, we can just let his highlight tape do the heavy lifting.