Alabama RB transfer Justice Haynes commits to Michigan football
Michigan Wolverines football has made a big land out of the NCAA transfer portal, with Alabama running back transfer Justice Haynes committing, a source close to the athlete told TheWolverine.com. Haynes entered the portal Dec. 13 and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Michigan and Alabama are set to play each other in the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
The Maize and Blue landed Haynes over Ole Miss, South Carolina, Ohio State and others. The Wolverines and Gamecocks were the final two schools it came down to. He’s the No. 1 running back in the transfer portal, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.
The Wolverines have three running backs that are slated to return in 2025 in sophomore Benjamin Hall and freshmen Jordan Marshall and Micah Ka’apana. Michigan will also bring in two 2025 signees in Jasper Parker and Donovan Johnson.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder had a prior relationship with Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford, who was previously the position coach at Ohio State from 2015-23. Alford recruited Haynes when he was a prep prospect out of powerhouse Buford (Ga.) High. Haynes took an official visit to Ohio State June 24, 2022 and also visited on an unofficial basis.
Haynes appeared in 25 games with six starts over two seasons with the Crimson Tide. He played his freshman season with head coach Nick Saban and his sophomore year under first-year head man Kalen DeBoer. Position coach and assistant head coach Robert Gillespie was a holdover from Saban’s staff, remaining in Tuscaloosa under DeBoer.
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Haynes is coming off a solid 2024 season, currently ranking eighth in the SEC with 5.7 yards per carry. He rushed a total of 79 times for 448 yards and 7 touchdowns, splitting time with teammate Jamarion Miller.
Haynes is averaging 3.2 yards after contact per rush. He’s a big play threat, too, with 200 of his 440 yards having come on 5 rushes of 15-plus yards. He’s picked up 22 first downs, meaning he moved the chains on 27.8 percent of his rushes in 2024.
The Georgian was impressive in limited action against Michigan in the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl — Alabama’s final game of the 2023 season. He rushed 4 times for 31 yards with an 11-yard long. Haynes rushed 25 times for 168 yards (6.7 yards per attempt) and 2 touchdowns as a true freshman appearing in six games on offense and 13 overall that season.
The former four-star recruit was the No. 33 overall player and second-best running back in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
