Nick Saban raves about Alabama freshman Justice Haynes

The way Nick Saban talked about Alabama freshman Justice Haynes on Saturday, you’d think the running back was a seasoned senior, and not an 18-year old who has been on campus for a matter of months. But apparently the true freshman has been just that good.

From his physical abilities on the field to his work ethic and maturity off it, Saban is thoroughly impressed. He took the chance to sing Haynes’ praises when asked on Saturday.

“Justice has had a great spring, he’s a really good player. He’s a really mature guy. He’s really smart. Nothing’s really too big for him,” Saban said. “He goes out there and competes and if you were just a guy sitting on a log watching, you would never know he was a freshman.”

Saban went on to point out all the areas that Haynes has excelled in. Short of pass blocking, Saban mentioned just about everything a running back might be asked to do.

“So he’s a very talented guy. He can make cuts, he can make you miss. He’s got some power. He’s got good speed, he’s a good receiver. So he’s done a really, really good job all spring,” Saban said.

Haynes is someone that On3’s Matt Zenitz had been hearing positive reviews about for a few weeks. He shared a bit about Haynes and his performance during a recent scrimmage on the “Paul Finebaum Show” on Wednesday.

“One newcomer that continues to come up on my end and really have heard some terrific stuff about is a four-star, highly ranked running back that they have in Justice Haynes,” Zenitz said. “Justice, during the course of their scrimmage this past weekend — I think it was on the first play from scrimmage or at least early in the scrimmage — broke off and nice chunk run against Alabama’s defense. I believe it was the first-team group. And then later on in the scrimmage, showed off some of his power and bowled through multiple defenders on to his way to a red zone touchdown run.

“He has consistently flashed during the course of the spring and adds to what should be a strength for Alabama this year.”

Haynes played high school football at Roswell (GA) Buford, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He was also a Georgia legacy, making his commitment to — and early promise with — Alabama and Saban over SEC rival Kirby Smart and Georgia that much sweeter.