Following their 31-20 win against South Florida, the Memphis Tigers (8-3, 6-1) look to secure at least a share of the American Athletic Conference championship on Saturday as they will take take on the Connecticut Huskies (2-8, 1-5)—statistically one of the worst teams in college football. Over the last several games, Memphis has been led offensively by a familiar face: Brandon Hayes.
When sophomore tailback Doroland Dorceus went down in the fourth game of the season against then-No. 10 Ole Miss, Memphis head coach Justin Fuente began the search to replace his featured back. Fuente tried fellow sophomore Sam Craft, but Craft hurt his shoulder in the home loss to Houston.
However, the injury to Craft—who averaged 3.86 yards per carry this season (team average per carry is 4.26)—may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Tiger rushing attack.
Fuente briefly—as in only for the SMU game—split carries between true freshman Jarvis Cooper and Hayes. In the SMU game, Hayes rushed for 104 yards on 14 carries and had one touchdown in the 48-10 trouncing of the Mustangs in Dallas. Cooper ran for 93 yards on 16 carries and scored twice against SMU, but clearly Fuente saw something out of his senior tailback that he really liked.
So the next week against Tulsa, Fuente made Hayes the featured back in this Tiger offense. Hayes made his coach look like a genius carrying the ball 29 times for 205 and three touchdowns in a 40-20 win over the Golden Hurricane.
In the three games since Tulane, the Tigers’ senior back has rushed for 332 yards including a 189-yard performance against USF this past Saturday.
Barring an unforeseen turn of events, for the third consecutive season, Brandon Hayes will lead the Memphis Tigers in rushing; Hayes has rushed for 2,278 yards and 16 touchdowns over the last three seasons.
The journey to get here has been one of untypical convention. Hayes initially walked on to Memphis in 2010. The tailback then left to go play at a community college in Arizona in 2011 and returned to Memphis following the completions of the 2011 season. Upon returning Hayes earned both a scholarship and playing time, and the Chicago native led the Tigers in rushing in both 2012 and 2013.
The 2013 season was supposed to be Hayes’ final season, but he received a special waiver from the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. At the beginning of the season, Hayes appeared to have been passed up on the depth chart by some of the young, talented backs Memphis had on their roster, but the 23-year-old remained patient and now is eying his first career 1,000-yard season.
It would take a 158-yard performance against Connecticut on Saturday to achieve the milestone, and while that is a tall task, Hayes has eclipsed 158 yards rushing twice in his last four games, and the Huskies are giving up slightly over 158 yards per game. It almost seems destined to happen.
Regardless of whether or not Hayes reaches 1,000 yards, I guarantee you that he considers this season a success. During the 2012 and 2013 when Hayes also led Memphis in rushing, the Tigers went a combined 7-17. This season, with the legs of their sixth-year senior tailback carrying them, the Tigers are 8-3 and have won five straight games.
Hayes, much like he has done the past five games, will do everything he can to ensure a ninth win and at worst a share of the AAC crown.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
