Days after announcing that he’d be returning to Penn State, a former Western PA football star entered the transfer portal.
247Sports first reported Saturday night that Tikey Hayes would be entering the portal after one season at Penn State.
Hayes has a lot of fans inside the Lasch Building.
After impressing on the practice field, Hayes got a chance to show a little of what he could do in the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson, converting a key third down late which set up a Penn State touchdown.
It looked like Penn State fans would be getting to see more of him in 2026, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Before Penn State, Hayes rushed for 1,723 yards and 23 touchdowns one season.
Most players would do anything to do that as a senior, and some would even take that total for a career.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Hayes put up those numbers as a freshman.
The next season was even better. Hayes ran for 2,011 yards and 33 touchdowns. The year after that? 2,239 yards and 26 touchdowns. Hayes’ senior season didn’t go as well statistically due to him being hampered by injury. But still, he went for 1,022 yards and 17 touchdowns on just 97 carries, good for 10.5 yards per carry.
Of course, Hayes’ talents caught Penn State’s eye, and he committed there in late September 2023.
It didn’t take long for Hayes to impress when he got to Penn State.
“Tikey Hayes has been incredibly impressive so far,” former Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey said in March. “He’s wired right; everything he does is important to him.”
Hayes has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
