St. Thomas University’s football success gives its players confidence

David Hayes once lacked confidence.

He was skinny – 6-1 and maybe 170 pounds – and he wasn’t even playing football … until he was convinced to try out as a junior at Tampa’s King High.

Hayes, now listed at 6-4 and 190 pounds, is no longer bashful.

In fact, Hayes, 23, is one of the main reasons the St. Thomas University Bobcats remain a threat to win an NAIA national championship.

The Bobcats have turned in four straight nine-win seasons, but they haven’t managed to get past the second round of the national playoffs.

Hayes, meanwhile, had a breakthrough year in 2023, catching 41 passes for 929 yards, a 22.7 average and 13 touchdowns in 13 games.

Last year, in just 11 games, Hayes broke all of STU’s single-season records with 60 catches for 1,115 yards and 16 TDs.

“I’m electrifying,” Hayes said when asked to describe himself as a player.

Bobcats coach Bill Rychel won’t argue with that assessment.

“David is a special athlete,” Rychel said. “He was the wide receiver of the year’ [in the Sun Conference] last season. He recognizes what defenses are giving him, and he has speed, length and ball skills.”

Rychel said Hayes is drawing interest from pro scouts, which might be surprising given that the Bobcats are an NAIA team. Then again, running back Rontavious Farmer this past spring became the first former STU player ever to earn an NFL tryout (with the New York Giants).

Although Farmer did not get signed, just getting that tryout has given players such as Hayes added confidence.

Hayes has also watched with interest as his former STU teammate, C’Quan Jnopierre, has starred as an FIU kick returner, earning 2025 preseason honors as Conference USA’s Special Teams Player of the Year.

Indeed, players such as Jnopierre and Farmer have proven that there are good players in the NAIA, and Rychel believes he has several others of that quality.

Among the players expected to stand out for STU this season are: quarterback Keely Watson; 6-6, 310-pound right tackle Axxell Jeanty; cornerback and kick returner Jerome Mitchell; linebacker/safety Jeremiah Laguerre; defensive lineman Vincent Burse, Darius Johnson and Alexander Zito; and safeties Jeremiah Noel and Demario King.

The Bobcats are also deep as there are 215 players in the program, including their varsity and developmental rosters.

Last year, the Bobcats went 9-2, losing a pair of close games. They lost 31-27 to Keiser, which went on to reach the NAIA national championship game for the third straight year. Several weeks later, STU lost 27-21 to Georgetown (Kentucky) College in the playoffs.

“We’re close,” Rychel said. “We’re not going to make wholesale changes. We want to win our final game, but we also want to develop our players, on and off the field.”

One of those players who has developed nicely is Watson, a Jacksonville native who last season completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 2,759 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

A lot of those passes went to Hayes.

“Our connection is like peanut butter and jelly,” Hayes said. “We go together well.”

Hayes also said Watson has been a leader at STU ever since he arrived on campus.

“Even as a freshman, if a player would mess up, [Watson] would snap on him,” Hayes said. “Even if the player messing up was a senior offensive lineman, Watson has a leadership mindset.”

Watson, a 6-2 and 210-pounder, was asked about potentially beating Keiser, STU’s Sun Conference rival.

“We can’t get too wrapped about Keiser,” said Watson, who is set to graduate in May with a degree in Business Administration. “We have to focus on improving every day. But I feel we have the players and the coaching to defeat them.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 11:47 AM.