Former Gamecock tight end Hayden Hurst made his return to the Carolinas on Oct. 28 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his Baltimore Ravens fell to the Carolina Panthers, 36-21.
Due to a stress fracture in his foot, Hurst had a late NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 7. He said having strong practices helped him succeed on the field after being sidelined for the first part of the season.
“I feel a lot better, I feel a lot more confident. I feel like today, I kind of cut it loose. Our first couple drives we had, I was in there with blocking and all sorts of stuff ... I feel a lot better," Hurst said. "Hopefully, I can continue to play fast and just continue to have good practices ... When I practice good, I feel confident in the game plan and I can come out on game day and cut it loose.”
The rookie tight end recorded his first regular season touchdown late in the fourth quarter for Baltimore’s final tally of the afternoon on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson. It was also the first passing touchdown for Jackson.
“They played man coverage. Kind of just vacated the area and kind of just let me run my own route,” Hurst said. “No one was there. Lamar saw it earlier in the drive and just found me again and I went into the end zone.”
Though this was Hurst’s first appearance at Bank of America Stadium with his NFL club, he is no stranger to the behind-the-scenes aspects of playing in Charlotte as he played two games in the Queen City as a member of the Gamecocks in 2015 and 2017.
“It was cool,” Hurst said. “I've been in here twice. My freshman year, we played North Carolina here and then last year we got to play North Carolina State so I'm familiar with the locker room, familiar with the stadium. It was weird being on the other side of Carolina fans for once, but it was pretty special to come back here.”
Despite Hurst having a packed schedule, he has been able to keep tabs on his former teammates in Columbia and has a positive outlook for South Carolina down the road.
“I’m all for coach Muschamp," Hurst said. "I know some people are pointing fingers and blaming but he’s just an incredible coach. If you listen to the guy, he knows what he’s doing, he knows what he’s talking about, and I think if people are patient and just give him time to get his plan in there, he’s got the blueprint. I think South Carolina is going to do great things.”
Hurst and the Baltimore Ravens will return home to M&T Bank Stadium and will begin their three-game homestand on Nov. 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m.