Utah Utes quarterback Jon Hays is stripped of the ball as he is tackled by Arizona State Sun Devils linebacker Oliver Aaron as the University of Utah faces Arizona State in NCAA football in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. Utah recovered the fumble.
Ravell Call, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — His first major college start, against Arizona State last year, was not a memorable one for Jon Hays, at least not in a positive way.
Hays, as everyone knows by now, was just a few months removed from not having anywhere to play college ball and had only been part of the Ute team for a matter of weeks when starter Jordan Wynn went down with a season-ending injury. Hays was basically all the Utes had at the quarterback spot.
He started off decently enough, staking the Utes to a 14-10 lead. However five Utah turnovers, including three interceptions from Hays, handed the game to the Sun Devils, who scored 25 unanswered points.
"I was really disappointed with my performance last year against Arizona State — I had three picks," Hays said earlier this week.
Eleven and a half months later, Hays gets another shot at Arizona State, this time in Tempe (Saturday, 8 p.m. MDT), and he says he'll be much more prepared this time around and ready for redemption. "I'm ready to get back down there and play a good Arizona State team."
For Hays, the guy who was headed to Division II Nebraska-Omaha before that school suddenly dropped football, it has been a roller-coaster ride over the past 16 months.
He was picked up by the Utes as an emergency backup in mid-May, found himself thrust into the starting role in the middle of the team's initial Pac-12 season, lost some games and won some games before capping the year with a brilliant come-from-behind victory over Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.
Yet despite all that, he was basically relegated to fourth string during spring ball as the Utes welcomed Wynn back from an injury and tried to get a close look at highly touted incoming freshmen Travis Wilson and Chase Hansen.
While it was a tough time for Hays, he just kept working hard, trying to keep his head up.
"It's not what happens but how you respond to it," he said. "That's the philosophy I've taken, and it's really helped me out."
Hays said the Ute coaches were always up front about everything and that helped him deal with the situation.
"They've been true to their word," he said. "Any time I've had a question and wanted to know how I stood on this team, they've been brutally honest with me, and I really appreciate that."
20 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765605387/Utah-Utes-football-QB-Jon-Hays-to-get-redemption-shot-against-ASU.html
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