'It makes me smile': The mentality, position change that made Troy Hairston successful

It was an Oct. 16 matchup in 2015 between two Oakland Athletics Association White Division foes.

Birmingham Seaholm hosted Farmington in the second-to-last game of the regular season. The most well-known name on the field was Farmington senior linebacker David Reese II, a blue-chip prospect with offers from Florida, Texas, Michigan, Louisville and many other teams from Power Five conferences.

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There was also Troy Hairston, a senior prospect without any stars or Division I offers. He played for Seaholm under DeWald, who was hired as the Maples' head coach in 2012.

“David is a good football player," DeWald said. "He went down to play at Florida, but Troy wanted to prove to everyone that he belonged there.”

As a no-name prospect to anyone outside the Birmingham area, Hairston took it to top-ranked Reese – play after play, all night long.

Hairston played linebacker and fullback for Seaholm, while Reese carried the weight for Farmington at the same positions.

In that mid-October matchup, Hairston was the better player. 

"I know his mindset going into the game was, ‘I’m going to show everyone I can take this kid,'" DeWald said. "And he did. When that kid played fullback and Troy was at linebacker, he brought a lot of wood with him.”

Reese ended up playing for Florida, and he was recruited to the Gators by head coach Jim McElwain, who is now Hairston's coach at Central Michigan.

Funny how stuff like that happens, right?

Even though Seaholm lost the game, 44-35, and ended up finishing the season 3-6 overall, Hairston began putting himself on the map.

But it wasn't enough to get the attention of top Division I programs, as Hairston was one game away from the conclusion of his senior season.

The linebacker had offers from Livingstone College and Kentucky Wesleyan College, two Division II programs that were willing to offer him some out-of-state scholarship money.

Hairston didn't want that, and he wasn't going to accept less than what he knew he was capable of.

It was something he had been telling himself since his freshman year of high school.

"As a ninth-grader, he said, ‘I’m going to be a Division I football player, no matter my size,'" DeWald said. "He was working his tail off. His mindset from the first day was to be a Division I player.”

That's when Central Michigan came calling.

The Chippewas already knew of Hairston, and the coaching staff thoroughly enjoyed what they saw on film.

Hairston might have gotten a scholarship offer earlier in the process if not for then-coach John Bonamego already having his two linebackers for the 2016 class in Mount Pleasant two-star Hunter Buczkowski and IMG Academy two-star La'Bryson Dixon.

With Buczkowski and Dixon committed and preparing to sign national letters of intent, there was no reason to add Hairston. He wasn't known as a Division I talent at the time and there weren't other Mid-American Conference schools drooling over him.

But Bonamego was able to dish out a walk-on spot to Hairston following the early February National Signing Day.

"I want to be a Division I football player and walk-on to prove where I belong," Hairston said, as DeWald recalled.

Buczkowski has since moved to fullback. 

Dixon signed with the Chippewas and never played. He went to Saginaw Valley State in 2016, then said he was "thankful to get a second chance to play football" at Riverside City College in California. He is now at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. 

As for Hairston, the one that was left with the walk-on offer, he's in the two-deep and on scholarship for the 2019 season in McElwain's first year.

But he's no longer at linebacker.

Switching positions

McElwain came to town early in December 2018 after Bonamego was fired following a 1-11 season.

Hairston began McElwain's tenure at linebacker, the same spot the junior spent 2016-18 under Bonamego. He played in 11 games and recorded five tackles last season.

He continued as a linebacker through spring camp and the early stages of fall practice. By the end, McElwain and defensive coordinator Robb Akey decided to move the 5-foot-11, 245-pounder to defensive end.

“It moved pretty fast," Hairston said. "It was rough because the first thing was, ‘How can I help my guys in the front four?’ I’ve transitioned well. I have some things to work on and am looking to get better.”

DeWald often keeps in touch with Hairston and his family. When he found out about the move from linebacker to defensive end, the Seaholm coach was nervous.

Since DeWald didn't know what all was going on in the minds of McElwain and Akey, he thought of a few different scenarios.

The worst-case situation was that Hairston was being moved to defensive end for scout team purposes in practice, thus likely ending any chance of Hairston getting consistent playing time in 2019.

"I wanted to make sure they were moving him for the right reasons," DeWald said. "(Troy) assured me they were. Obviously, it worked out for him.”

Moving from linebacker to defensive end paid off immediately. Hairston began the season as the backup to starting sophomore Amir Siddiq.

In Central Michigan's Week 2 loss to Wisconsin, Siddiq sustained a right foot injury in the first quarter. Just like that, Hairston was called on to fill in and act as the starter.

Hairston started the next three games against Akron (Sept. 14) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Miami (Sept. 21) at Hard Rock Stadium and Western Michigan (Sept. 28) in Kalamazoo.

“It was the best move," McElwain said. "This guy has really committed to a higher standard, and he’s become a mainstay in our third-down package as far as a guy that’s on the field a lot."

By the time Siddiq came back from injury, the Chippewas moved LaQuan Johnson from defensive tackle to defensive end, thus pushing Siddiq into a third-string role. 

Hairston and Johnson currently split starters minutes at defensive end. Central Michigan is 36th in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision with 21 sacks.

McElwain credited Hairston for a portion of the sack ranking, which is ahead of all other teams in the conference except Western Michigan. What the defensive line does well is rush the passer and fill the pocket to create a loss of yardage for the opposition.

“Sometimes, those guys think it’s just about rushing around the outside for a sack," McElwain said. "That’s the easiest thing to protect. The quarterback will just step up in the pocket."

That's where Hairston comes in, even though he isn't the one that always gets on the stat sheet. He restricts the pocket unlike the rest of the line due to his physical attributes.

"He’ll start with speed and move to power, and he’ll collapse that pocket," McElwain said. "That makes the quarterback uncomfortable.”

When Hairston crouches on the defensive line, he prepares to get physical, hustle to the ball and seek it out in an attempt to force a turnover.

Hairston said the safeties and cornerbacks give the defensive line and linebackers enough time to do just that.

"It doesn’t matter where you’re at on the field or if you’re tired," Hairston said. "Just get to the ball. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it hard.”

Finding his groove

DeWald never doubted Hairston's ability to switch positions. Back at Seaholm, the linebacker and fullback was a team player. He learned to play a variety of roles the team needed to fit specific situations.

Whatever DeWald asked, his top player delivered – no questions.

Hairston is more than just an on-field player. He's a leader. But that doesn't come with yelling or screaming. Instead, it's a lead by example mentality that the junior defensive end has possessed since high school.

Nobody on the high school roster ever questioned Hairston's work ethic in day-to-day activities.

"We weren’t churning out Division I guys, but his mindset was so much different than anyone else on the team," DeWald said. "Everyone on our team respected Troy. They knew to listen when he spoke."

Now at Central Michigan, Hairston continues to approach the game with the same mindset. It's only amplified by Akey, a hard-nosed yet motivating defensive coordinator.

“He instills a mindset in us," Hairston said of Akey. "He tells us to play as hard, fast and physical as you can for as long as you can.”

That's exactly what Hairston has done all his life, and the time spent on development has come to fruition as a defensive end.

McElwain continuously makes it clear that he desires for his players to be proud of what they put on film.

Hairston has stepped up to that calling, and he's making it impossible for the coaching staff to keep him off the field. 

"This guy can be proud every Sunday when we look at the tape," McElwain said.

It was much of the same success DeWald saw on film years ago, especially from that game against Farmington in October 2015.

“I love him so much," DeWald said. "You tell kids, ‘If you work hard, things will pay off.’ Sometimes, they don’t pay off. For him, right now, it is paying off.

"It makes me smile. He’s doing it, and I’m so happy for him.”