Alex Hayes, an offensive guard from Tucker High School (Ga.), has verbally committed to Syracuse.

Hayes is the second offensive lineman in SU’s recruiting class, joining offensive tackle Jonathan Burton from Virginia. Bryan Lamar, Hayes’ coach at Tucker, said Hayes visited SU last weekend and committed soon after.

Hayes tweeted Sunday morning that he had committed to Syracuse.

A 6-foot-4, 275-pound lineman, Hayes was part of a team that won a state championship his junior year and went 10-3 his senior year.

“Very athletic, very agile for his size,” Lamar said. “Great student, great kid.”

Hayes was originally recruited to Syracuse by former offensive line coach Greg Adkins. Adkins coached a couple of Tucker assistant coaches when he was an assistant at the University of Georgia from 1996-2000, Lamar said. Adkins was a primary recruiter in the state of Georgia for Syracuse.

When Adkins left to join Marrone with the Bills, Syracuse wide receivers coach Rob Moore picked up the recruitment of Hayes.

“Rob Moore did a great job with Alex, building that bridge there,” Lamar said.

Lamar said Hayes also got to meet new Syracuse offensive line coach Patrick Perles on his visit.

Perles, most recently the offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, is listed in the Syracuse University directory as an assistant coach for football. The university has not released an official statement about Perles, though.

Hayes had offers from East Carolina, Tulane and Central Florida, according to Rivals.com. He also had an offer from Wake Forest, according to Scout.com.

Published on January 28, 2013 at 4:29 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr