By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
The grind of football is nothing new to Jared Casey and Hayden Gillum.
Former walk-ons for Big XII teams, they are now in their teams’ starting rotations – Jared for the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Hayden for Kansas State University in Manhattan.
But there they were Friday morning, sitting at a table at Applebee’s Grill + Bar Restaurant in Hays, looking a little uncomfortable and at times even breaking a sweat.
Just like they have done with grueling football practices for many years, the duo from nearby Plainville took it all in stride.
During a two-hour time period, they rehearsed and repeated lines over and over – and over again – until they got it just right for a 30-second video.
That’s what happens when you are chosen to do a commercial for a regional franchise.
The lead-in to the commercial has Jared telling Hayden, “Hey, look at us,” and Hayden asking who would have thought that two guys from Plainville (population 1,750) would be starters for the Big XII teams in Kansas.
This was old hat for Jared, who had done two similar commercials at the Applebee’s location in Lawrence. The first one came after he scored a 2-point conversion to beat Texas during his freshman season. He also was in a second commercial last season with KU quarterback Jason Daniels.
This one, however, was close to home, in a restaurant where both he and Hayden remember eating after games and on weekends during their high school days. And this time, they had lots of spectators, as more than a dozen family and friends huddled in the background to watch.
Someone asked Jared if this was harder than playing in front of 50,000 screaming fans.
“Yes, it is,” he said. “There was more pressure this time with people watching.”
But pressure is something these two young men have learned to embrace, dating way back to their childhood and in high school, where they played together for two years.
After graduating from PHS in 2018 following a standout three-sport career, Hayden took off for Kansas State, the school for which he had been a fan all his life. The Wildcats were the only NCAA Division I team to give him a look, so he walked on.
Jared, who also starred in three sports at Plainville, had dreams of playing linebacker at the D-I level – specifically for the University of Nebraska, the team he rooted for since he was youngster. But like Hayden, only one D-I school even offered Jared a walk-on opportunity. So Jared packed his bags for Lawrence.
Hayden and Jared both jumped at the chance to just get on the field, even if that meant changing positions.
Hayden mostly played defense in high school but moved to offense at K-State and worked his way up to the starting center position – and eventually earned a full scholarship.
“It took me quite a while to get to where I am now,” Hayden said, “but I just stayed the course and kept working.”
The strong work ethic and resiliency of folks from western Kansas is nothing new.
Jared scrapped his dream to play linebacker when the Jayhawks offered him the opportunity to try out at fullback as a preferred walk-on. A new coach brought in a new offense that didn’t feature a fullback, so Jared moved to tight end. By the start of his sophomore season, he also was on scholarship.
At 6 feet tall and 255 pounds, Jared is the shortest tight end in the Big XII.
“Six-three is average height of the tight ends,” he said. “I just have to try to overpower them and use good technique.”
Jared played a key role in the Jayhawks qualifying for a bowl game last season for the first time since 2008 following their 6-6 regular-season performance. The last time before 2022 that KU football won more than three games in a season, Jared was a first-grader.
After falling behind by 25 points to Arkansas in the third quarter of the Liberty Bowl, the Jayhawks came storming back for an exhilerating finish.
They tied the game with 41 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Jared scored a touchdown in the first OT and added a 2-point conversion in the second extra period to force a third overtime to decide the winner. KU eventually lost by two points, 55-53, in the high-scoring affair but gave fans something to forward to for the next season.
Hayden (6-foot-3, 294 pounds) helped Kansas State win its first Big XII title in 10 years. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 10-3 record before falling to perennial powerhouse Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Following such breakthrough years for their teams, Jared and Hayden are preparing for next season with zest. Jared will be a junior eligibility-wise, while the 2023 campaign will mark Hayden’s last time in a Wildcat uniform.
They will be able to eat for free for a while after receiving several Applebee’s gift cards along with a compensation check for the commercial from Dave Phillips, marketing director of Applebee’s of Kansas, who is based out of Wichita.
Phillips said that the company jumped on doing commercials with college student-athletes immediately after Kansas athletes became eligible for the name, image and likeness compensation (NIL) in the summer of 2021.
“We knew this was going to be a blast,” Phillips said. “It’s the favorite part of my job. It definitely helps us with our image. It’s a lot of fun for the athletes and their families. And we get to meet a lot of really great people.”
Phillips said Jared’s first commercial in fall 2021 that focused on Applebee’s “2-for-22” special – which consists of two entrees and a full-size appetizer for $22 – wrote itself because of his winning 2-point conversion vs. Texas. Last year’s commercial played on KU’s success in becoming bowl-eligible.
One day last spring while having lunch with Jared’s older brother, Justin Casey, Phillips mentioned that he wished he knew of a Kansas State player that he could include in the commercial.
Justin grinned and shook his head.
“Well, I have just the player for you,” Justin told Phillips, “and you aren’t going to believe this. He’s from Plainville, too.”
And so began the planning for two former teammates who still cheer for each other on and off the field – except when they are playing against one another – to team up for a commercial.
“This was so much fun,” said Dorothy Stieben, one of Jared’s aunts who lives in Hays and showed up at Applebee’s Friday morning. “They both make us all so proud.”
Jared’s parents, Jerry and Karen Casey, and several other family members, came to watch. So, too, did Hayden’s wife, Preston, and his older brother Hadley Gillum, a former Fort Hays State University basketball standout who lives in Hays.
Phillips said he didn’t mind the crowd. After all, Jared and Hayden are the pride of Plainville – and all of western Kansas.
Toward the end of the commercial, Hayden teases Jared about blinding him with the gleam of his Big XII championship ring.
Quick on the draw, Jared pulls out a larger-than-life gift certificate that says it “allows Jared Casey free Applebee’s 4 Life.”
“No, I’ve got this,” Jared says with a wink.
Oh, yes, Jared Casey, you’ve got this. And so does Hayden Gillum.
True to form, Jared and Hayden signed items for fans after the commercial shoot, even before taking time to eat their own lunches. Then both took off for a few days away from football to enjoy the holiday weekend with their families before returning to their respective campuses.
KU and K-State fans are excited to see the newest Applebee’s commercial, which will air before the start of the 2023 season.
They’re also looking forward to watching some competitive Big XII football across the Sunflower State this fall.
No doubt, some of the loudest cheering fans wearing the crimson and blue of KU and the purple and white of K-State will be from western Kansas, and you might even hear them shout, “Hey, look at us now!”