Marcus Hayes, a redshirt freshman safety who had two interceptions against New Mexico State — including one for a touchdown with less than a minute left that ultimately sealed the game — was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
He’s the first UNM player to be honored this season.
Hayes, who hails from really Rockford, Illinois, was key in the Lobos’ win over in-stage rival NMSU on Saturday.
Both of Hayes’ interceptions came in the fourth quarter — and both with under four minutes in the game. With about three and a half minutes to play, and the score tied at 35-25, the freshman safety was able to pickoff NMSU’s third quarterback of the game, Josh Adkins, for the team’s fourth interception.
The Aggies were inching closer to scoring once again getting into scoring position, but the interception from Hayes put the Lobos on their own nine-yard line.
However, the offense didn’t make much of the takeaway and instead ended up punting the ball.
But Hayes didn’t stop there. On the Aggies’ next drive, he picked off Adkins once again, undercutting the pass, and taking it 60 yards to the endzone, solidifying New Mexico’s win.
“I saw the dude go in motion and I knew I had to take him,” Hayes said, when recalling his pick-six. “I saw the second receiver try and pick me so I knew he wasn’t going to go over the top, my instinct just told me to undercut it and the ball came to me.”
Hayes added that coaching, especially on the defensive side, is what led him and his teammates to a victory.
“We just listened to our coaches,” Hayes said. “The coaches were making the right calls, so that’s what helped us.”
Hayes also managed to add four tackles to his stat line on Saturday night. He now has three forced turnovers this season, as he forced a fumble against Wisconsin.
On Saturday, Hayes returned one of NMSU’s punts for 27 yards, which set up the Lobos’ first scoring drive of the game.
Additionally, for his special teams efforts, Hayes was also named to the Group of Five of the Paul Hornung Award, which is handed out annually to “the best two-way player in the nation,” according to a UNM press release.
The Lobos managed to pick off NMSU five times, which ties for the most all-time in one game. Before that, UNM hadn’t accomplished such a feat since 2003.
Hayes and his New Mexico teammates will have a week off from live action before hosting Liberty on Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports beat reporter and senior writer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and also contributes content for other sports. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
