Justice Haynes Rolls With Tide

Nick Saban received a surprise Monday morning with Justice Haynes shocking the college recruiting world. The running back announced he is continuing his football career with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Georgia native chose Bama over Georgia and Ohio State.

He took official visits to each of his finalist schools last month. Although he is a Georgia native, Haynes picked Tuscaloosa as his college destination.

Experts predicted the prospect would follow his father’s footsteps and commit to the Georgia Bulldogs. His father, Verron Haynes, played college football for Georgia before getting drafted in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the son will take a different journey.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie was the primary recruiter for Justice Haynes. Gillespie joined Saban’s staff after Charles Huff took the head coaching position at Marshall.

“Just the culture. The way that they’re going to develop you on and off the field. The accountability aspect of it. And the aspect that you’re going to be going against the best every day. One of the things we talked about was you look at the receivers they’ve had, like Smitty, Cooper, Henry Ruggs, and Waddle, and then you look at who was guarding them, like Patrick Surtain, Trevon Diggs, all those guys had to guard those guys every day in practice, and that pushed them to be better and be the best version of themselves.”

-Justice Haynes on why he chose Bama

A Look at Justice Haynes

The RB spent his first three years of high school at Blessed Trinity Catholic in Roswell, GA. In his junior year, Haynes rushed for 2375 yards on 275 carries and scored 29 touchdowns. He is transferring to Buford High School for his senior year.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound running back is the second-best player in the state of Georgia and the third-best RB in the country. The four-star athlete ranks No. 48 on ESPN’s Class of 2023 Top 300 and has an 86 scout grade.