How Baylor Hayes went from mystery transfer to 12-0 as Brentwood football quarterback
Baylor Hayes and his family were living in Florida a year ago when they visited Brentwood for a home football game on a mild October night.
Hayes’ parents, Keith and Lara, already planned to move from Jacksonville to the Nashville area and favored Brentwood as their son’s future school. Hayes had just completed his football season back home.
He was sort of the mystery man on the sideline.
“His cousin went to school here, she introduced us,” Brentwood receiver Matthew Manning said. “We talked for a little bit, not about football, just kind of guys being bros. We exchanged contacts, connected on social media. That was about it at first.”
A little more than a year later, the mystery is over. The Bruins are two wins from playing in the state championship game for just the third time ever.
Hayes’ addition to Brentwood has been perfect judging by the Bruins’ 12-0 record going into Friday's TSSAA football playoffs Class 6A quarterfinal against rival Ravenwood. The senior quarterback is 157-of-236 (66.5%) passing with 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns. He’s thrown at least one TD in every game and also has six rushing scores.
If the Bruins win Friday to reach the state semifinals, Hayes will be one of the primary reasons.
“It’s 100% surreal. I had no idea what to expect,” Hayes said. “To do what we’ve done and for me to come in and help, to be 12-0 and rolling like we are right now is incredible.”
Baylor Hayes embraced transition from Florida to Brentwood
Hayes' parents lived in Brentwood about 20 years ago before relocating to Florida. They wanted to return to Middle Tennessee a few years ago but their kids wouldn’t agree to it.
Things changed when Lara was offered a job promotion in the medical device sales field last year. Their daughter, Kai, was approaching her senior season playing soccer at North Carolina. Baylor loved his circle of friends and surfing the waves of Florida. But this time, he said yes.
There were pluses and minuses. Hayes played in a run-based offense at Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville. “It was just how our system was designed. That’s OK,” he said. “But of course I was itching to throw the ball a little bit. I’ve always been able to throw.” This year, he has attempted 93 more passes than he did as a junior.
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But the recruiting momentum he had in Florida — all of it precious with Hayes an undersized QB at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds — began slowing down after the move. Coaches assigned to his territory lost contact with him, said his dad, who played quarterback at Morehead State and was his son’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach through his junior year.
Hayes enrolled at Brentwood before the spring semester and embraced the cold-weather workouts he was spared in Florida. No one in the program fully knew what kind of player he was, only that he’d put up pretty good numbers at Sandalwood: 77-of-143 passing with 1,000 yards and five touchdowns.
“There’s a whole thing when you’re new, like, ‘Prove it,’” Manning said. “Everyone knew he was a hot shot coming in. I think he knew we knew he was a hot shot. But he didn’t come in boasting about all that. It's clear now. He can make every throw."
Brentwood coach Clint Finch didn’t see Hayes throw a football live until the spring. What he knew was that the quarterback didn’t miss a winter workout.
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“He’s the kind of kid who walks into a room and knows nobody,” his dad said, “but walks out with 100 friends.”
“He does have that ‘Mr. Brentwood’ feel to him,” Finch added.
Baylor Hayes thriving for Brentwood football in 2023
Hayes threw three interceptions in his first two games with the Bruins but is turnover free since. He hasn’t lost a fumble, either.
College recruiters have re-entered the picture. Hayes recently got a preferred walk-on offer from Pittsburgh, in addition to committable scholarship offers from Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech, University of Indianapolis, UT-Martin and North Alabama.
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He has led an offense that has gained 3,235 yards compared to 1,543 last season.
“You’re probably not 12-0 if you don’t have good quarterback play,” Finch said. “We’ve been really happy with his development.”
Moving to a new school didn’t just work for Hayes. It was a smash success.
“All I care about is winning on Friday nights,” Hayes said. “As far as that, I don’t think you could have written it up any better.”
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football playoffs: Transfer Baylor Hayes 12-0 as Brentwood QB
