Following in brother’s footsteps, Simon Hayes shows ‘unbelievable perseverance’ to lead Naperville Central

The path that senior Simon Hayes has taken to become Naperville Central’s starting quarterback is about as far as one can get from a yellow brick road.

But he’s golden now.

Hayes was the backup on the freshman B team, didn’t start on the sophomore B team and was a receiver on the junior varsity team last season, when he got hardly any action.

“It’s an awesome story,” Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich said. “It’s unbelievable perseverance. Him and I had a long conversation in the offseason. He didn’t know if he was going to play football.”

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Hayes ultimately decided to continue. He attended every offseason workout and practiced regularly during the summer with receivers Mark Williams, Kyle Clark and Owen Render.

“He’s matured a ton,” Ulreich said of Hayes. “He was named a captain by his teammates. That says a lot about how far he’s come.”

Hayes showed just how far during his second varsity start Friday night. He completed 21 of 28 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns to lead the host Redhawks to a 42-21 victory over Lockport at Memorial Stadium.

It was the Redhawks’ first home win since November 2024, when Hayes’ older brother Sebastian quarterbacked them to the Class 8A state semifinals in his first and only varsity season following two ACL injuries.

Hayes struggled in his varsity debut, which Naperville Central lost 27-7 at Wheaton Warrenville South. Ulreich said the Redhawks (1-1) had a terrible week of practice, but things jelled from the start against the Porters (0-2).

Utilizing quick, short passes, Hayes completed 14 of his first 16 attempts, including a 26-yard touchdown strike to sophomore tight end Ian Figi that gave Naperville Central a 14-0 lead.

“I put a lot of trust in my coaches and my teammates,” Hayes said. “We worked super hard this week.

“I knew we had a great game plan. That touchdown I had to Figi, we looked at that in film, and I knew right away this was going to be open for a touchdown.”

On the next possession, Hayes tossed a 23-yard scoring pass to junior running back Ryan Jacobson to make it 21-0.

“Especially starting drives, the coaches said, ‘Simon, just go get a rhythm out there,’” Hayes said. “If we need to push the ball down the field, we would, but I felt like I was just taking what I was given, and we executed.

“Once we get the ball in our receivers’ hands, they’re so special. They can do anything when they get the ball. They’re so fast, nobody’s catching them.”

There was no catching the Redhawks on this night with Hayes playing like a world-beater.

“Simon is one of the better quarterbacks I’ve seen in high school football,” Williams said. “We spent all summer working out together.

“He’s improved so much as a quarterback. I mean, he played receiver last year. But he really locked in during the offseason and came back. It was something special.”

Hayes could have a special connection with Williams, a lightning-fast junior who is receiving major Division I interest. Williams had six catches for 127 yards, with his last two receptions going for touchdowns of 29 yards and 43 yards.

“He’s a great player,” Williams said of Hayes. “He always stays poised, and he always hypes up the team.

“He loves what he’s doing. He doesn’t look like a first-year quarterback at all. He looks like he’s been out here for a while.”

Hayes also has two good running backs, Jacobson and senior Landon Nelson, who carried 15 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

“I trust in my boys so much,” Hayes said. “We’ve put in so much work this offseason. I stress to Mark and Kyle and all the receivers that the time will come.”

It did on Friday.

“Last week was disappointing,” Hayes said. “It was a little embarrassing, but I’m so proud of how my boys bounced back. It was phenomenal. It’s such a great feeling.”

Ulreich is proud of how far Hayes has come.

“Part of it is just him growing up,” Ulreich said. “He’s got an unbelievable family that supports him and encourages him. His mom and dad are such an awesome, positive support system.”

Hayes is grateful for the support.

“First three years didn’t go really as planned, but I think the coaches are definitely great mentors to me and helped me get to the place where I am today,” he said. “I’m a leader of this team, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”