University Southern California Trojans
Q&A With USC Quality Control Analyst Hayes Pullard
June 16, 2020 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Hayes Pullard was a two-time captain as a linebacker at USC, and he recently returned to Troy as a defensive quality control analyst for the football team. On Tuesday, Pullard took over the USC Athletics Instagram account to answer some questions from fans.
Here are the highlights:
Q: What was your proudest moment as a Trojan?
A: That's a tie. It has to be the USC-UCLA game, 50-0, and getting a degree for my mom.
Q: What was your favorite game you played at SC?
A: USC vs. Oregon at Oregon. I think it was 2011. Prime time game. I think we all know what happened that day.
Q: What was the hardest game you played in?
A: One of the hardest games, most competitive games and funnest games was probably Stanford in 2013 in the Coliseum.
Q: Who was your hardest hitting teammate?
A: T.J. McDonald. By far.
Q: Who was your favorite defensive teammate?
A: Dion Bailey was probably my favorite teammate. We wanted to compete in every single thing, whether it was interceptions, tackles, PBUs, sacks. We wanted to show each other who was the better linebacker in our time.
Q: What was your favorite moment at Crenshaw High?
A: Going undefeated, winning the City championship, being the first City team to ever go to the State game. Even though we lost. You can thank Michael Hutchings for that.
Q: Best offensive lineman you played against?
A: Let me tell you a quick story. Freshman year, first day of practice, bottom of the depth chart, want to make a name for myself. Who do I line up across? Tyron Smith. One-on-one. I lost. Every single time.
Q: Who was your favorite Trojan to watch play when you were growing up?
A: A lot of them. We had a lot of great Trojans. Matt Leinart, Reggie [Bush], Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga. Loved watching those guys.
Q: Who do you think the best Trojan of all time is?
A: In my opinion, Troy Polamalu.
Q: Favorite USC team ever?
A: That 2011 season when we were on sanctions, ranked No. 1, right after we beat Oregon in Oregon and after we mopped UCLA 50-0. Favorite team of all time.
Q: Adoree' Jackson or Reggie Bush, who you got on KOR?
A: Adoree' Jackson. I gotta keep Reggie Bush in my backfield. Adoree's playing defense, punt return, kick return, he's that athlete, that do it all guy.
Q: What was your favorite cheat meal after games?
A: It would have to be Chano's. Chano's right there on Figueroa.
Q: What was your favorite place to eat around USC?
A: La Barca. Mexican restaurant. Fantastic food.
Q: If you could play any other position, what would it be?
A: It would have to be running back.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
A: I just took a quiz to find out what my spirit animal is. I'm a tiger! Didn't know that.
Q: If you could put yourself on any NFL team in history, what team would it be?
A: The Baltimore Ravens when Ray Lewis was going on his run to the Super Bowl. Just to be in that linebacker room.
Q: Who's someone you wouldn't want to go against in the Oklahoma drill?
A: There's nobody I wouldn't want to go against in the Oklahoma drill. But if I was able to decide who I wanted in the Oklahoma drill, I would love to see Reggie Bush on the other side. That would be fun. Competitor versus competitor.
Q: Looking back on your career, would you change anything?
A: Nope! Not at all. The good, the bad has made me into the man I am today, and I thank God for every moment of it.
Q: What's your goal as a coach at USC?
A: I would say to listen, to learn and to lead.
Here are the highlights:
Q: What was your proudest moment as a Trojan?A: That's a tie. It has to be the USC-UCLA game, 50-0, and getting a degree for my mom.
Q: What was your favorite game you played at SC?
A: USC vs. Oregon at Oregon. I think it was 2011. Prime time game. I think we all know what happened that day.
Q: What was the hardest game you played in?
A: One of the hardest games, most competitive games and funnest games was probably Stanford in 2013 in the Coliseum.
Q: Who was your hardest hitting teammate?
A: T.J. McDonald. By far.
Q: Who was your favorite defensive teammate?
A: Dion Bailey was probably my favorite teammate. We wanted to compete in every single thing, whether it was interceptions, tackles, PBUs, sacks. We wanted to show each other who was the better linebacker in our time.
Q: What was your favorite moment at Crenshaw High?
A: Going undefeated, winning the City championship, being the first City team to ever go to the State game. Even though we lost. You can thank Michael Hutchings for that.
Q: Best offensive lineman you played against?
A: Let me tell you a quick story. Freshman year, first day of practice, bottom of the depth chart, want to make a name for myself. Who do I line up across? Tyron Smith. One-on-one. I lost. Every single time.
Q: Who was your favorite Trojan to watch play when you were growing up?
A: A lot of them. We had a lot of great Trojans. Matt Leinart, Reggie [Bush], Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga. Loved watching those guys.
Q: Who do you think the best Trojan of all time is?
A: In my opinion, Troy Polamalu.
Q: Favorite USC team ever?
A: That 2011 season when we were on sanctions, ranked No. 1, right after we beat Oregon in Oregon and after we mopped UCLA 50-0. Favorite team of all time.
Q: Adoree' Jackson or Reggie Bush, who you got on KOR?
A: Adoree' Jackson. I gotta keep Reggie Bush in my backfield. Adoree's playing defense, punt return, kick return, he's that athlete, that do it all guy.
Q: What was your favorite cheat meal after games?
A: It would have to be Chano's. Chano's right there on Figueroa.
Q: What was your favorite place to eat around USC?
A: La Barca. Mexican restaurant. Fantastic food.
Q: If you could play any other position, what would it be?
A: It would have to be running back.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
A: I just took a quiz to find out what my spirit animal is. I'm a tiger! Didn't know that.
Q: If you could put yourself on any NFL team in history, what team would it be?
A: The Baltimore Ravens when Ray Lewis was going on his run to the Super Bowl. Just to be in that linebacker room.
Q: Who's someone you wouldn't want to go against in the Oklahoma drill?
A: There's nobody I wouldn't want to go against in the Oklahoma drill. But if I was able to decide who I wanted in the Oklahoma drill, I would love to see Reggie Bush on the other side. That would be fun. Competitor versus competitor.
Q: Looking back on your career, would you change anything?
A: Nope! Not at all. The good, the bad has made me into the man I am today, and I thank God for every moment of it.
Q: What's your goal as a coach at USC?
A: I would say to listen, to learn and to lead.
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