It’s not everyday you see a starting defensive end elect to pursue a graduate transfer and it’s even rarer for one leave a place like Notre Dame in early April. Such is the case however as fifth-year senior Jay Hayes announced on Twitter that he would be leaving South Bend and will play elsewhere in 2018.
Hayes played in 26 games for the Irish over three seasons, including starting all 13 games at defensive end in 2017 where he recorded 27 tackles and a sack. He was set to be one of the leaders of a defensive line group that was fairly deep heading into the 2018 campaign but will have a new face stepping into the starting lineup. The first man up is probably junior Khalid Kareem, but several other players could have a role opposite fellow junior Daelin Hayes (no relation) going forward as well.
As far as where Hayes could end up transferring to, he’s from Brooklyn, New York and had offers from schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and others as a four-star prospect coming out of high school. It remains to be seen what kind of transfer market there could be for him but it’s not everyday a starter from Notre Dame winds up becoming a graduate transfer eligible for 2018.