news-record.com

When he didn't get invited to the NFL Combine, the seemingly endless and curiously televised evaluation process that some consider a prerequisite for draft legitimacy, William Hayes didn't abandon his dream. The former High Point Andrews High School defensive end was similarly undeterred when the league declined to include him on the allegedly all-inclusive list of possible draftees.

So much for predictions. Hayes went in the fourth round Sunday to the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, dozens of Combine invitees -- including former Dudley and N.C. State standout DeMario Pressley, who lasted until the fifth round -- were still wondering where and when they'd go.

"I felt I had a chip on my shoulder," Hayes said shortly after his selection was announced. "I knew I had to do more than those guys who have already been seen by so many teams."

That process can start Thursday, when the 6-foot-2, 275-pounder, who is no relation to the former N.C. A&T coach of the same name, reports to Nashville, Tenn., for a mini camp.

Every draft has moments that make all-knowing jaws drop. Had Hayes been taken by the New York Jets, whose fans typically overtake Radio City Music Hall on this weekend every spring, the choice would have been greeted by boos and jeers and other unmerited expressions of disdain. At least it was Tennessee.

"The Titans selected William Hayes," ESPN anchor Trey Wingo said. "Now let's have everybody understand the selection of William Hayes. If you're sitting at home and saying to yourself, 'Who?' you're not alone.

"The idea of William Hayes being drafted? Yeah, you can say it was a long shot."

While the NFL's scouting bureau had no mention of the former Winston-Salem State player, Mel Kiper, the cult leader of ESPN's draft analysis division, at least had the guy as the 66th-best defensive end.

"At this point in the draft, sometimes you roll the dice," Kiper said. "Now this is a lot further than I would have moved. You would have been talking about an undrafted free agent for me.

"But hey, this is one team and it only takes one of 32 to like a kid and they saw something in this kid to pull the trigger in the fourth round."

Kiper, perhaps the only analyst who bothers to make such rankings, had Hayes as the 66th-best defensive end in the player pool. The player hoped his name would be called, but there was surely no guarantee.

"I was just sitting in my room, chilling, and my dad says, 'The Tennessee Titans just called.' And then I went and got my cell phone," Hayes said.

Although the observers at the Combine didn't get to see it, Hayes is said to run a 4.71 time in the 40-yard dash. That's faster than the officially registered times of two defensive ends taken in the top eight picks overall: Virginia's Chris Long (4.71), who went second to St. Louis; and Florida's Derrick Harvey, claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the eighth choice.

"One of the fastest defensive ends of the group available," Kiper said.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com