Taylor County OT Hayes Johnson "overwhelmed" by UK Football scholarship offer

Jacob Noger | UK Football

Hayes Johnson grew up cheering for the Wildcats, hoping one day he might be able to suit up for the blue and white. That dream got one step closer to becoming a reality after the sophomore-to-be camped at Kentucky on Sunday.

Johnson, a 6-foot-4 300 pound offensive tackle from Taylor County, was in Lexington a week after working out at Western Kentucky. Recruiting was not necessarily on his radar in the middle of one-on-one drills when Vince Marrow pulled Johnson aside and told him he had a UK scholarship offer.

“It was amazing. At that moment in time adrenaline was still going. I was just wanting to play. Afterwards, he came up and talked to my mom and told us; Stoops came over. It was amazing,” he told KSR.

“I’ve been a Kentucky fan since I was little. It’s always been a dream to have the chance to be able to play at UK. It kind of happened and then it didn’t sink in till about 30 minutes down the road. It’s overwhelming.”

The Kentucky offer is Johnson’s first from a college football program. A powerful offensive tackle that can throw some weight around, last month the 16-year-old squatted 585 pounds, no big deal.

“We wanted to shoot for 600 (pounds), but we couldn’t put any more plates on the bar.”

Class of 2024, Height- 6’5” Weight-295, OL Hayes Johnson with a huge squat max today of 585lbs!!! @SportsTaylor @TCFBRecruit #TCPride #Purpose2021 pic.twitter.com/nnz6SGkkar

— Taylor Co. Football (@TCCardinalsFB) May 24, 2021

Johnson’s impressive feat might be considered light work by his new partner in the weight room, Kiyaunta Goodwin. Two weeks ago he began making the 90-minute drive to Louisville to work out with the UK commit at Aspirations Gym, the facility operated by Chris Vaughn that consistently produces Power Five talent, including UK’s Wan’Dale Robinson and Carrington Valentine.

When Johnson isn’t in the weight room, he enjoys time out on the lake, Green River Lake, to be specific. He works at a marina and pulls out plenty of bass. An accomplished fisherman, Hayes advanced to the KHSAA Regional Bass Fishing Tournament before football forced him to put the pole down competitively.

“I realized about midway through this year that I can play and dominate.”

Still football young, Johnson has a lot to learn. Goodwin has already taught him a thing or two. He learned quite a bit by watching tape with offensive line coach Eric Wolford, forced inside by a storm during Sunday’s camp.

“He’s great. We got to go in, watch a little film and kind of see what he preaches here at UK. He knows what he’s talking about,” Johnson said. “I really like him as a coach.”

Wolf might one day be instructing Johnson on the Big Blue Wall. Until then, he’ll be putting in work at the lake, in the weight room and on the football field for Taylor County High School.

Picture provided by Johnson (71)

The More You Know

— Johnson’s last trip to Kentucky’s campus was in 2019. He was in Kroger Field’s upper deck as the rain poured down and Lynn Bowden lit up Missouri for 204 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-7 win.

“That was an amazing game,” he said. “The atmosphere was unreal.”

— Who is Johnson’s favorite Wildcat? That’s still up in the air, kind of. “When Kiyaunta gets there, it will be him, but I really like Kash Daniel, his attitude and the way he got in there and competed every day.”

— COVID-19 hit the Cardinals at the wrong time, right before the playoffs. Taylor County still finished with a 7-2 record, falling to rival Glasgow 14-0 in the 3A playoffs after previously defeating the Scotties 35-15. In the shortened season Johnson showed that for a big guy, he can still move well down the field to put his big body on opponents.