Kentucky fans are going to love new football commit Hayes Johnson
You won’t hear many post-commitment interviews better than the one Hayes Johnson put on.
The Taylor County (Ky.) High School product announced his decision to commit to the Kentucky Wildcats during the Thursday morning edition of Kentucky Sports Radio. Well, he technically announced a couple of rooms over from the KSR crew, but he didn’t waste any time jumping on the headset for what would be his second appearance on the popular radio show.
Johnson, a three-star class of 2024 recruit, chose the home-state Wildcats over the likes of Baylor, Tennessee, Louisville, and Michigan State — which all offered him. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound offensive tackle received his scholarship from Kentucky assistant coach Vince Marrow in June 2021, his first from a Divison I program. Offensive line coach Zach Yenser and graduate assistant Drake Jackson eventually took over as his primary recruiters and soon locked down one of the Bluegrass State’s top football recruits.
A longtime fan of Kentucky since early childhood, Johnson didn’t have to overthink his decision. He becomes the program’s first 2024 commitment for the Wildcats.
“Just growing up a Kentucky boy, it’s what you dream of doing,” he said on KSR.
Johnson actually moved up his commitment date about a week just because he couldn’t wait any longer. The initial plan was to tell the staff during this Saturday’s Junior Day (which he will still attend) and then make the official announcement sometime next week. But his mind had long been made up — his relationships with Yenser and Jackson made it an easy choice.
“Drake has probably been the best to talk to,” Johnson said of Jackson, later saying the two talked for about 30-45 minutes ahead of his decision on Tuesday.
But Johnson’s actual announcement was hardly the best part of his segment on KSR. While committing to Kentucky and staying close to home was a monumental moment for him, the Big Blue Nation is going to fall in love with this kid (if they haven’t already) for many reasons that don’t involve the gridiron.
During his interview with KSR, Johnson told a story about the first time he ever met Coach Yenser, which included Johnson falling down a mud bank and immediately heading back to Taylor County High School where Yenser was waiting for him with a surprise appearance.
As Johnson tells it, he hadn’t heard from Yenser for about a month and a half after Yenser was officially hired to replace Eric Wolford as UK’s offensive line coach in Feb. 2022. The first time he did, Johnson was out turkey hunting on a nearby lake, taking advantage of something called an “educational enhancement form”, which essentially allows a free absence (they get 10 of these every year, Johnson says).
While out hunting with some of his buddies, Johnson and his 6-foot-3 frame slipped roughly 40 feet down a hill and into a creek before he received a text from one of his high school coaches saying that Yenser was at Taylor County High School and wanted to meet in person. Despite being covered in mud, Johnson raced back to Taylor County, parked right out front of the school, and popped in to introduce himself to the man who will soon be his position coach.
From there, it was a perfect match.
“I could just relate to (Yenser) so much and then we get to talking about goose hunting, duck hunting. I mean that’s all we talk about now really,” Johnson said, adding that football actually doesn’t come up all that often in their conversations anymore.
In a setting such as this one — talking in front of his friends and family on a radio show he grew up listening to — Johnson’s personality shines bright. He speaks like a true Kentuckian and knows how to land a joke, even if he’s not intentionally meaning to.
Later in his sitdown with KSR, Johnson’s girlfriend, who attends the Mid-America College of Funeral Service up in southern Indiana (which is a whole other interesting subplot of this story), spoke up to say she doesn’t think goose tastes all that great. Johnson then added that he had to take her out for Mexican food after they attempted to sit down for a goose-prepared dinner one night.
“Wasted two baked potatoes,” Johnson said with perfect delivery.
Looking ahead, Johnson will play just one more season of high school football before enrolling early at UK in January 2024. He took the additional year of eligibility granted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reclassifying to 2024, but will graduate from Taylor County in the spring and finish up his high school playing career that fall.
Johnson will join the Big Blue Wall as an important building block for the future of its foundation. He said he isn’t sure exactly where Yenser will have him playing on the offensive line, but that’s not something he’s truly concerned about. Johnson made his dream come true on Thursday, and that’s all that matters right now.
Now it’s time to go to work.
“The only thing I can control at the end of the day is just going in there and going to work,” Johnson said of playing at Kentucky. “That’s all I can control and I felt like I can go in there and really do something.”
Welcome to the BBN, Hayes. You’re already becoming a fan-favorite.
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