And just like that, he’s gone. Running back Tikey Hayes, the latest portal addition, has been dismissed from the Nebraska football team. After approximately one month and nine practices Hayes was shown the door. Well, he was a Husker longer than quarterback Kenny Minchey was anyway, but that isn’t saying much.

Maybe it’s unfair to compare the two? One left for money, the other, well, for reasons unknown. And while I shouldn’t speculate, like most fans, that’s all I’m left with. Obviously, Hayes wasn’t a good fit.

Hayes transferred to Iowa Western Community College last May after playing his freshman year at Penn State. Stuck behind two future NFL players, Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, he struggled to get on the field. He had three carries as a Nittany Lion, rushing for 18 yards against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Hayes was a highly decorated 3-Star player out of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He was a four-time All-State honoree and first-team All-Conference. He rushed for over 7,000 yards and 95 touchdowns throughout his high school career. He only played in 5 games as a senior due to an injury, yet he still rushed for 1,120 yards and 10 TDs on 95 carries. The 5’11”, 205-pound running back was described as a perfect fit for playing between the tackles in the Big Ten.

I’d like to say I’m surprised Hayes didn’t last but finding him just across the river at a time when it was thought running back depth was needed, seemed a little too good to be true. In this case it was. Once again fit outweighs talent. Or, who knows, maybe Tikey was shocked to see how much talent the Husker’s had at running back?

I had several questions at the time about what Hayes was doing at IWCC but tried to explain them away. They were things like the fact Hayes was recruited by Penn State, West Virgina, and was offered by Ohio State. So why leave Penn State for IWCC? Why wasn’t he pursued in the portal, say by former coach James Franklin and Virgina Tech? And why drop down to NJCAA?

I told myself there could be multiple reasons. Players often commit to coaches as much as schools and with Matt Campbell taking over at Penn State, Hayes may not have seen himself as a good fit. He may have wanted immediate playing time, and he would have gotten that at IWCC, as he was slated to be the starter. Rushing for 1,600 yards and 20 TDs would have looked good on his resume when trying to land with a new school. I told myself he may have wanted to improve his grades. There were a multitude of reasons, but it was out of the ordinary and something that shouldn’t be ignored.

And it seems whatever it was couldn’t be ignored any longer.

But the outlook isn’t grim Husker fans, we still have Mekhi Nelson, Isiah Mozee, Jamal Rule, Kwinten Ives, Conner Booth, and Vincent Genatone. That’s more than enough talent to win with. So, for now I’m going to take the Alfred E. Neuman approach on this one, “What, me worry?”

GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!

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