Cornering the Market
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Tony Wilson
The SEC is known for its NFL-caliber defensive players that for some insane reason are playing at the college level. You know, those guys from Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida … but what about Vanderbilt? Enter the Commodores’ Casey Hayward, a 5-11, 188-pound cornerback who has his sights set on the big stage of professional football. Hayward, a senior for Vanderbilt, hauled in seven interceptions for the Commodores, two of which came in a 31-24 Liberty Bowl loss to Cincinnati. It was the motivation of Hayward hearing that he didn’t have the elite speed necessary to be successful in the NFL that fueled the fire to perform well at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Some had criticized him saying he wasn’t fast enough to keep up with NFL receivers down the field.
“Everyone looks up to Charles Woodson,” said Hayward. “Great guy, great player, been in the league for a long time. It’d be a great opportunity, you know, getting to learn from a veteran guy, someone that can play. It’s a great coaching staff—the Packers have a great organization as a whole.” As far as being selected, Hayward sees himself as a first- or second-round cornerback, which is possible given his Combine measurables. But given the impressive depth at the position this year, coupled with the elite speed shown by some, perhaps Hayward won’t hear his name selected in primetime. But that shouldn’t diminish a player whose production speaks for itself.
“I have been hearing a lot of: I don’t have enough straight-line speed,” said Hayward. “I want to show everybody I can run with everybody, faster than what they expect.” Hayward turned some heads during his workouts at the Combine and showed he has some solid speed. His 4.57 40-yard dash time, coupled with his 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press bumped him up some Draft charts. But according to Hayward, his impressive stats aren’t his best quality. “I’d probably say my instincts,” Hayward said. “They’re a lot similar to Asante Samuel’s. I think I’ve got some of the best instincts in this Draft, and watching film, you can see that I’m always around the ball, somehow, some way.” While Hayward compares himself to Philadelphia’s Samuel, he also admires another NFL cornerback, this one a little closer to Lambeau.
90 | Cheesehead TV 2012 Draft Preview
CB Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt
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Featured Article
Tony Wilson
“It was kind of interesting,” said Hayward. “(Aaron’s) brother is a good player as well. They got some of the same styles. But Aaron just throws the ball a little better right now. “
“I definitely think I am one of the top corners in the draft,” explained Hayward. “My production has shown it. I don’t know how else you can rank it if you are not going to go by production. My production is just as good or better than anybody in this draft.” While playing at Vanderbilt, Hayward had the luck to work with former Packers assistant coach James Franklin. Franklin, the current head coach at Vandy, served as Green Bay’s wide receivers coach under Mike Sherman in 2005. The 2005 season saw the Packers go 4-12, but the receivers finished with the sixth-most receiving yards in the league.
Hayward played alongside another NFL Draft hopeful in safety Sean Richardson. Early in the 2011 season, the two teamed up to help Vandy become one of the nation’s early leaders in interceptions. That is, until opposing quarterbacks stopped throwing in their direction. The Commodore cornerback is also very high on his teammate, Richardson, becoming a quality NFL player. Hayward went on to say that the Vanderbilt secondary as a whole was a solid group but flew under the radar. “I think we were overlooked, but we were pretty good as well. At one time we led the nation in interceptions, and they just stopped throwing the ball to us,” said Hayward. “[Richardson] is definitely an underrated guy. He is going to turn some heads out here with his numbers. I have been playing with this guy for four years and I definitely know what he can do. He is going to surprise some people.” Away from football, Hayward is only a few courses away from completing a sociology degree from one of the better academic institutions in the country. He took the previous semester off to focus on the Draft, but plans to return to school to complete his degree. Once he steps away from football on Sundays, Hayward has a keen interest in owning a chain of restaurants that aren’t even open Sundays. “I want to own my own business. I took a lot of business classes at Vanderbilt,” said Hayward. “I want to own a couple of Chick-fil-A restaurants. I eat there a lot. I go there about three times a week.”
Coach James Franklin, Vanderbilt Franklin isn’t the only Packers tie to Hayward and the Commodores. MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ brother, Jordan, was the quarterback for Vandy a season ago. And the two share some similarities other than last name and position. 91 | Cheesehead TV 2012 Draft Preview
“Hayward compares himself to Philadelphia’s Samuel”
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