Gary Wesley Hayman (September 8, 1951 – October 1, 2020) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

who played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...

Football career

Speedster Hayman captained three sports at Newark High School (late 1960s) when Newark was 33-0 in football under Bob Hoffman. Hayman was the state's second leading scorer and an All-State selection his senior year. He starred in the Blue/Gold All-Star football game, catching seven passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Hayman, at Penn State University, led the country in 1973 in punt return average (19.2 yard average, on 23 returns for 442 yards). He averaged 19.7 yards every time he touched the ball. Against North Carolina State he had an 83-yard punt return. He led Penn State in receiving with 30 catches for 525 yards and three touchdowns. In kick-off returns, Hayman led the team with 237 yards on eight runbacks, averaging 29.6 yards, including a 98-yarder against the University of Maryland. Hayman caught three passes for 35 yards and set up the winning touchdown with a 36-yard return against LSU in the 1974 Orange Bowl. He also played in the 1973 Sugar Bowl. Penn State was 22-2 in Hayman's two seasons there. He shared 1974 "Delaware Athlete of the Year" award with Dallas Cowboy Randy White. Hayman was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, but he broke his leg and was unable to play in 1974 and played in O. J. Simpson's shadow in 1975. He was picked by Seattle in the expansion draft and later released.

References

1951 births 2020 deaths People from Newark, Delaware American football running backs American football wide receivers American football return specialists Buffalo Bills players Penn State Nittany Lions football players {{Runningback-1950s-stub