Josaih Hayes, right, hopes to make a lot of plays for UK this year. (UK Athletics Photo)
He could be one of the regulars in Kentucky’s defensive line this year and sophomore Josaih Hayes his coach, Anwar Stewart, has set a high bar for him.
“He is all over me to do what I do all over the field and do it to the best of my ability every play,” said Hayes, a four-star recruit from Mississippi who played in five games last season.
Yet the 314-pound lineman has a bit of an unusual nickname — Pooh
“When I was little, I used to love Winnie the Pooh. I used to watch it all the time (on TV) so my momma named me Pooh,” he laughed and said.
Did he have Winnie the Pooh sheets, toys and other things or does he still have some Pooh items even now?
” No, I don’t have that,” he said. “Coach Stew jokes with me and messes around about my nickname. Him and coach (Jon) Sumrall both do that. It’s good, though.”
Sumrall, UK’s linebacker coach, is the one who recruited Hayes and convinced him to pick UK over a lot of other offers.
“He’s an up front guy. We laugh and joke but when it is time to play ball he is very serious. We like to have fun but he works and I work,” Hayes said. “
Sumrall always went all-out at linebacker during his playing career at Kentucky, Hayes has never seen film of the coach playing for UK but has no doubts about his intensity.
“You can tell by his enthusiasm and energy he brings every single day that he loves the game so much and it means so much to him,” Hayes said.
