After playing college football for the Florida State Seminoles, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft.

A native of Greenville, Florida, Hayes attended Madison County High School, where he played football and ran track.

[7] In his true freshman season, Hayes played in all 13 games and was credited with 17 tackles, broke up one pass and had two quarterback hurries.

In his junior year, Hayes took over a leadership role in the Seminoles linebacker corps, after the graduation of Timmons and Buster Davis.

Starting a weakside linebacker, he ranked second on the team in tackles (80) behind Derek Nicholson (99), first in tackles-for-loss (17.5), and second in quarterback sacks (5.0) behind Everette Brown (6.5).

[8] Described as a “smallish, athletic linebacker who makes plays all over the field,” Hayes was projected to be a fourth-round draft pick by Sports Illustrated.

[13] On April 22, 2021, Hayes entered hospice care at his parents' home due to chronic liver disease with which he had been diagnosed two years earlier.