Southwest Mississippi defensive end Anthony Hayes was a late target for Tulsa, as the Hurricane brought the 6-foot-5 and 270-pounder in for an official visit on January 31 weekend. TU offered the 3-star junior college prospect during the visit, but he had not made his college decision before the regular signing period began on February 5.

"I loved it, and (Tulsa) has everything I'm looking for in a school," Hayes told Inside Tulsa Sports in early February.

Aside from Tulsa, Hayes was pondering offers from Colorado, Southern Miss, Louisiana-Lafayette, UAPB and others. It wasn’t until March 10 that he finally made a choice, and his commitment to TU went mostly unnoticed, as the sports world was shutting down due to COVID-19.

“For the next two years, I will be attending the University of Tulsa,” Hayes said on Twitter.

As a sophomore this season in nine games, Hayes had 33 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and one pass deflection. As a freshman in 2018, he totaled 34 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

When asked about what he does best on the football field, Hayes simply said, “Get after the quarterback.”

Hayes graduated from Bay High School in Panama City, Florida. He was named First Team All-County as a junior and named First Team All-District and Third Team All-State as a senior.