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Nov 9, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11) takes a handoff from quarterback Haynes King (10) against the Miami Hurricanes in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech Football: Jamal Haynes Named to Doak Walker Award Watchlist

Originally posted on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 1:08 PM ET

Another day, another Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket named to an award watchlist.

Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes (Loganville, Ga./Grayson H.S.) continues to rake in national recognition ahead of the 2025 season, with inclusion on the Doak Walker Award watch list becoming his latest honor on Tuesday.

The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to college football’s most outstanding running back.

A redshirt senior, Haynes enters the 2025 campaign as the first Georgia Tech running back to rush for at least 900 yards in back-to-back seasons since Jonathan Dwyer in 2008 and 2009. As a junior in 2024, he amassed 1,110 total yards from scrimmage (944 rushing, 166 receiving) and 12 touchdowns (nine rushing, three receiving), en route to earning all-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition for the second-straight year.

As a sophomore in 2023, Haynes moved from wide receiver to running back during fall camp and went on to become Georgia Tech’s first 1,000-yard rusher in six years. His 1,257 all-purpose yards in ’23 (1,053 rushing, 151 receiving and 47 on kickoff returns) included 128 in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl versus UCF. He was named MVP of the Yellow Jackets’ 30-17 Gasparilla Bowl victory.

Off the field, Haynes earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia Tech in May, earning Dean’s List recognition with a 4.0 grade point average in his final semester and earning admission to Tech’s MBA program this fall.

In addition to his inclusion on the Doak Walker Award watch list, Haynes is also a member of the official watch lists for the 2025 Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award, which both honor the nation’s top player. He is also a preseason all-ACC selection.

The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, which consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives, will select 10 semifinalists and three finalists for the 2025 Doak Walker Award in November. The recipient will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards, Dec. 12 on ESPN.

Today, Georgia Tech announced it is going to be holding a whiteout for the week three matchup against ACC Preseason favorite Clemson (12:00 p.m. ET on either ESPN or ABC)

Tech fans are encouraged to wear white for the showdown on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.

The Whiteout game, a longtime Georgia Tech football tradition, returns to Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field for the first time since 2021.

Tech’s first official Whiteout game came on Nov. 20, 2008, when the Yellow Jacket defeated No. 20 Miami (Fla.), 41-23, at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Tech went on to officially declared an annual Whiteout game 12 times in 14 years, with memorable Whiteouts including a 30-27 win over Clemson in 2009 (a precursor to that year’s ACC Championship Game between the same two teams), a 28-17 victory over Miami in 2014 and, perhaps most notably, the Jackets’ 22-16 “Miracle on Techwood Drive” triumph over No. 9 Florida State in 2015.

This article first appeared on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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