Bucs rookie Josh Hayes: “No better feeling” than being drafted by same team as late uncle Geno Hayes
When cornerback Josh Hayes saw his phone ringing during the sixth round of the draft, he recognized the area code was from Tampa and thought to himself that “God works in mysterious ways.”
Hayes’ uncle Geno was drafted by the Bucs in the sixth round of the 2008 draft and played four years for the team before moving on for the final three years of his NFL career. The elder Hayes then turned into a mentor for his nephew while dealing with chronic liver disease that wound up causing his death in 2021 at the age of 33.
That connection with his uncle meant there was “no better feeling” for Hayes than to learn that he’d be following his path into the NFL.
“He was kind of our role model in that sense,” Hayes said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “He was the person that as I was growing up, that made me feel like making it to the NFL was possible. He was somebody that I called frequently, and we talked all the time about life, football, and the things that come with it that intertwine together, life and football. So, just being able to balance all that stuff, that’s really what we talked about. . . . Hopefully, he’s watching down on me right now smiling.”
Hayes played at North Dakota State and Virginia before transferring to the Kansas State for his final college season. The Bucs expect him to compete for time as a nickel back and on special teams during his rookie season.
Bucs rookie Josh Hayes: “No better feeling” than being drafted by same team as late uncle Geno Hayes originally appeared on Pro Football Talk
