Hayes Changes His Mind, Picks SDSU Over Arizona State

SAN DIEGO —  In a surprising turn of events, Crawford High’s Mark Hayes signed a football national letter of intent with San Diego State Wednesday.

Hayes, an all-county linebacker, had given a verbal commitment to Arizona State. However, he decided to sign with SDSU after a sleepless Tuesday night. His mother, Geneva, wanted him to attend Arizona State and refused to sign the letter of intent.

Mrs. Hayes said she did not sign the letter because she thought her son needed to get away from home and grow up. Her signature is not required but unless she signs the letter, Mark is still open to all recruiters.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mark said. “I have a scholarship. I’ll be attending San Diego State next semester.”

Michael Cage, a former Aztec basketball player, attended SDSU although his parents did not sign his letter of intent.

Hayes was considered the top recruit among 14 freshmen and three junior college transfers signed by the Aztecs. He is the sixth local high school player committed to SDSU.

Other locals signing with the Aztecs were Demetrius Bell, Morse offensive lineman; Jason Bill, San Pasqual offensive lineman; Daryl Crawford, Montgomery running back; David Woodhouse, Bonita Vista linebacker; and Tom Wurth, Monte Vista kicker. Joe Smylie, a linebacker from San Diego Mesa, was expected to sign but informed SDSU coaches he is leaving school to become a missionary.

Denny Stolz, SDSU coach, said he expects to redshirt most of the freshmen recruits next season. But Hayes (6-6, 235) will be an exception.

“Certainly, Mark will contribute in his first year,” Stolz said. “He’s what you call an impact player. He’ll make an impact in a hurry.”

In 1985, Hayes was an offensive lineman and linebacker for Crawford. He was the leading tackler on San Diego County’s third-ranked defense.

Hayes was considered among the county’s top prospects. He visited Oregon State, Colorado, California, Arizona State and SDSU before making a verbal commitment to Arizona State. According to Hayes, he changed his mind early Wednesday morning after making comparative lists of Arizona State and SDSU. Hayes, who plans to major in computer science, said he was swayed because U.S. News and World Report recently ranked SDSU second nationally in computer science and business schools.

Tom Freeman, an Arizona State assistant who formerly coached at SDSU, was at Crawford Wednesday morning to sign Hayes. But Freeman never saw Hayes because he was intercepted by Crawford Coach Chris Miller, who informed Freeman of Hayes’ decision.

“When Mark came in this morning, I wanted to make sure he was making a decision on what was good for Mark Hayes, not anyone else,” Miller said. “If he wasn’t going to be happy at Arizona State, he probably would’ve come back. He looked me in the eye and told me he wanted to go to San Diego State.”

Hayes had told local reporters that he originally favored SDSU but his mother preferred Arizona State. When Hayes decided on Arizona State, he said it was based on the fact that the school had just purchased $1 million in computer equipment.

His mother was also a factor because she wanted Mark to mature by leaving home. Mark lives with his mother and infant sister.

When Mrs. Hayes was contacted about not signing her son’s letter of intent, she was reluctant to talk.

“It’s not that I preferred Arizona State,” she said. “I don’t like San Diego State, period. I’d rather not say why. It’s the school. What I felt was that by getting away, Mark would grow up. He hasn’t grown up.”

Mrs. Hayes would not comment on whether she would sign the letter of intent with SDSU. All along, Aztec coaches thought Hayes wanted to attend SDSU because he was a frequent visitor on campus.

“My mother chose Arizona State because she felt I should experience being on my own,” Hayes said. “I won’t be going home here. I’ll be living on my own.”

According to Stolz, Hayes would not be the only local recruit making a contribution next year. He expects Crawford, the county’s leading rusher, to be used as a backup player.

SDSU lost four of its five starting offensive linemen and all four linebackers from last year’s team. Stolz hopes the three junior college recruits--two offensive linemen and one linebacker--will fill in immediately.

The junior college recruits are Mike Knutson, first-team All-American offensive tackle from Fullerton; Shawn Leckington, first-team All-Western States League linebacker from Rexburg, Idaho; and Art Aronson, two-time All-Golden Gate Conference guard from City College of San Francisco. Aronson’s brother, Doug, will return as a starting offensive tackle next season.

“We think all three of these guys have a chance to move in and help us right away,” Stolz said. “Looking at last year’s two-deep, it seemed obvious we needed to shore up our linebacking corps and offensive line. So that’s what we concentrated on as we looked at the junior colleges.”

Stolz said he thought it would be “great” if his coaching staff signed 18 to 20 players in its first year at SDSU.

“I knew we were doing well under the circumstances with a late start,” Stolz said. “Then, Mark Hayes came our way. He’s a dominant player.”