High School: 

• Committed to Northwestern on June 23, 2024.
• As a senior, led Moeller to its first state title game appearance since 2013.
• Father, Jonathan, was an All-American tight end at Iowa (1982-84) and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft, played in Kansas City from 1985-93 before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers (1994-96). Later served as a tight ends coach for Oklahoma (1999-2002) and the Cincinnati Bengals (2003-18), head coach of the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks (2020) and offensive coordinator for the XFL champion Arlington Renegades (2023). Now serves as the athletic director at Moeller.Mother, Kristi, played college basketball at Drake and was the Missouri Valley Conference MVP in 1995. Brother, Jaxson, played basketball at Texas, was selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft and now for the Los Angeles Lakers. Sister, Jillian, plays basketball at Cincinnati. Brother, Jewett, is a defensive lineman at Virginia.
• High school coach at Moeller was Bert Bathiany.
• Chose Northwestern over Virginia, Georgia Tech.

Christian Smith (DL Coach) on Hayes: “There is no doubt that Jonah will make an impact in the Defensive Line room when he steps foot on campus. Jonah brings with him a tremendous athletic skill set, one that runs deep through his entire family. His competitiveness, explosiveness and physicality will serve him well at the Big Ten level. Jonah’s best football is ahead of him, and we can’t wait to be a part of his exciting development.”