POWER AND GRACE

You could say carrying a football is in Dallan Hayden’s DNA. His father, Aaron, was a college standout at the University of Tennessee. (From 1991 to 1994, both he and teammate James Stewart rushed for more than 2,000 yards.) Dallan’s older brother, Chase, won Mr. Football honors in 2015 and now plays for the University of Illinois. So it's no surprise, really, when, as a junior, Dallan rushed for 2,010 yards last season, scored 24 touchdowns, and earned a Division II Class AAA Mr. Football trophy for himself. (And be patient for Dallan’s 10-year-old brother, Cullen, though he currently plays quarterback.)

“Dallan has worked three years to become an extremely talented football player,” says Purple Wave coach Tommy McDaniel. “His junior season, although very difficult due to COVID-19 protocols, was one for the records, personally. The good news for our program is that he still has his best football ahead of him. I know that he will be bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter in the fall with the experience. This should make him a challenge for defenses.”

According to Aaron, Dallan was a challenge to defenses before he could so much as name all the positions. “Early on, when Dallan was playing soccer, he was stronger and faster than a lot of kids in his class,” says Aaron. “But his agility and his ability to do things at full speed — especially being a bigger kid — I thought it might work out for football. At first, I honestly thought he’d be a defensive player, because in flag football, he would get so many penalties for tackling people, for running people over. He loved contact. The next year, the league called us and said he had to play with pads. He couldn’t play in that [flag] league.”

To this day, Dallan doesn’t shy from contact on the field. “When I got to play tackle [as a kid], I felt like I was home,” he says. “I got to run people over, and started loving the game. I learned that in football, you get to hit people and don’t get in trouble for it.” Dallan was influenced by Chase and highlights of his father, of course, but he found himself drawn to hard-running NFL stars like Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and another UT alum, Alvin Kamara.

With pandemic conditions restricting practice over the last year, self-motivation and conditioning discipline steered Dallan toward his breakout 2020 season. “During the pandemic, Dallan really put in the work,” says Aaron. “What he was able to do last year, he out-punted my punt coverage, as far as what I thought he could become. He’s really turned into something special. At this level, the elite backs do what they do at full speed. I also think his best days are ahead of him. He’s still learning so much, but he has a plan. He plays with such reckless abandon, and confidence.”

“I used the quarantine period to work out and gain healthy weight,” says Dallan, who currently tips the scales at just over 190 pounds. “Get faster, get stronger, more athletic. I lifted four times a week, a leg day, an upper-body day. Added some speed training.” As for nutrition, Dallan avoided the fast-food drive-through lane as much as possible. Baked chicken and home-cooked vegetables became staples and he enjoyed fruit with most meals.

Dallan relishes a particular memory from his junior season that he hopes to build upon as a senior. “Beating that school on Park and Ridgeway [MUS], 28-7,” he emphasizes. “That’s my favorite memory. I love whipping up on those Owls whenever I can.

“I’d like to have a better season [this fall] than I had last year. [CBHS finished 7-4 in 2020.] I want to win a playoff game, get to the state championship. We’ve been close; for some reason we just haven’t gotten there. Being seniors, my class wants to get past that first round.”

His gridiron prowess is one thing. But Dallan’s conduct and character when out of his football uniform are traits that should make the right kind of impact long after he scores his final touchdown.

“As a student,” says McDaniel, “Dallan has maintained a very high GPA while participating in multiple sports. His family supports him tremendously, but his parents demand the academic success supersede his athletic pursuits. Dallan represents the epitome of a student-athlete for the Brothers.”

Adds Aaron, “Dallan’s circle of friends is really eclectic. It’s not all jocks and ‘cool guys.’ Dallan will talk to the person who doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s welcoming to people, has a unique personality. When the game is over, it’s over. I really appreciate that about him. He wants to do what kids do. He hasn’t gotten himself caught up in all this attention.”

There’s a lot of football in Dallan Hayden’s future, first at Christian Brothers for one more season, then under the bright lights of a major college program. (Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee are among the schools actively recruiting him.) He’d like to follow his dad and play in the NFL, hoping to avoid the injuries that abbreviated Aaron’s pro career. Even beyond his playing days, Dallan envisions a career near the world of sports.

“Whatever college I go to, I’m majoring in business,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to work in a front office for an NFL or NBA team. A player personnel guy, maybe work myself up to a general manager role.” But for now, during these precious years when he can run people over and not get in trouble for it, Dallan Hayden intends to do precisely that. Just more often, and better. • — Frank Murtaugh