Bucs stopper: Adam Hayward hopes to last in NFL

Former PSU linebacker returns to Tampa Bay for second pro season

By Zach Stratton

The Portland Tribune, Aug 25, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Former Portland State star Adam Hayward celebrates a turnover for Tampa Bay in last week's NFL preseason game against New England.

AL MESSERSCHMIDT / GETTY IMAGES

Linebacker Adam Hayward went into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ training camp last year knowing he had to prove he could play in the NFL. He did just that.

Now Hayward, 24, is being asked to do it all over again.

Hayward, a sixth-round draft choice from Portland State, signed a four-year deal after he was taken with the 182nd pick. But in the NFL, contracts such as his are not guaranteed.

The Bucs say they are counting on Hayward, especially on special teams, but he isn’t taking a roster spot for granted.

“I don’t know, just because it’s a business,” he says. “I don’t know what they’re thinking in the front office, but I just have to do my job and see where they go with that.”

As a rookie, the 6-0, 235-pounder appeared in 12 games, making six tackles on defense and 11 stops on special teams. His most extensive action occurred near the end of the season; he racked up four tackles in a game against the Carolina Panthers.

Hayward saw action on special teams in the NFC playoff game against the eventual Super Bowl champions New York Giants – an experience he will never forget.

“It’s crazy,” he says of the playoffs. “It’s do-or-die, it’s one game that makes you or breaks you. It’s way more intense with the coaches and the extra studying.”

Most of his playing time in 2007 came after the Buccaneers had secured a spot in the postseason.

“We were already in the playoffs,” Hayward says, “so when you have a player like Derrick Brooks on your team, you kind of watch how many reps he gets to save his body for more important playoff games versus some non-important regular- season games.”

Hayward has come a long way, though.

Out of high school in Westminster, Calif., he decided to sign with Colorado State. After playing linebacker his whole life, he was switched to safety.

His two seasons with the Rams included limited playing time, and he decided to transfer to Portland State.

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