Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

JONESBORO — Four plays.

That’s all it took for true freshman Rocky Hayes to make a difference Saturday in Arkansas State’s 33-28 victory over Memphis.

His playing time was brief — four handoffs — but his 68 yards and 17-yards-per-carry average were instrumental in securing Gus Malzahn’s first victory as the Red Wolves coach.

“He's the fastest guy on the field; the most electric guy on the field, and we had a couple of plays for him and he was one of the difference makers in the game,” Malzahn said Saturday night.

Hayes, one of a number of promising newcomers for Arkansas State (1-1), made his biggest contribution with a 33-yard run down the home sideline with 3:46 left in the first half, setting up a 42-yard pass from Ryan Aplin to Josh Jarboe to cut the Tigers' lead to 21-17.

What makes his performance Saturday even more of a head turner is how limited Hayes had been on offense in practice. He opened camp on defense at cornerback.

Four days.

“We were down some receivers last week and just felt like we wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he could do on offense and gave him the ball early and he had some success,” Malzahn said of Hayes, who made the switch just four days before the Memphis game.

Hayes, a native of Helfin, Ala., was a three-year letterman in high school, where he finished his senior year with 2,036 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns, while averaging 90 tackles per season on defense. He flashed the same kind of playmaking ability against Memphis and the Red Wolves are hopeful they can see it again Saturday at Nebraska (1-1).

“I came in to A-State from a small high school, and in small high schools you always play both ways,” Hayes said. “If the team was playing good defense, I wanted to play offense and if the team was playing good offense, I wanted to play defense just to challenge myself and become a better player.”

Hayes, a civil engineering major who models his offensive game after former SEC playmakers like Ole Miss’ Dexter McCluster and Alabama’s Tyrone Prothro, is humble about his early success, giving credit to his fellow teammates rather than bask in the spotlight.

“It was everything I expected it to be, however, it really wasn't all me," Hayes said. "The upperclassmen really helped me through it all, they blocked well on the perimeter. The line gave a great job out there. It really made it easier for me getting all the nerves out being a true freshman.”