RB Justice Haynes, Alabama transfer, officially signs with Michigan football
The good news simply keeps coming for Michigan football. The latest jolt to the program come on Friday night — albeit not wholly unexpected — when the Wolverines revealed on social media the signing of former Alabama running back Justice Haynes.
According to reports, the Crimson Tide redshirt sophomore was on his way to Ann Arbor, but his commitment had not yet arrived. He was not with the team in Tampa, Florida, when it lost to U-M in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Tuesday.
According to reports, the former five-star prospect from Buford, Georgia, who was ranked No. 3 in the country as a running back and No. 34 overall in the class of 2023 by 247 Sports’ composite rankings, visited Ole Miss and South Carolina. But he officially joined the Wolverines on Friday.
With 448 yards on 79 runs (5.6 yards per touch) and seven touchdowns, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound runner was third among Crimson Tide players in 2024, behind Jalen Milroe and Jam Miller. In the Rose Bowl last season, Michigan defeated Alabama, and Haynes ran four times for 31 yards.
Now, he enters Ann Arbor as the most proven collegiate ball carrier in Tony Alford’s room. (Alford first tried to recruit Haynes to Ohio State when he coached the position in Columbus two years ago.) The departures of Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings leaves U-M looking to replace more than 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns from the room.
Haynes will likely battle with Jordan Marshall for the starting job; Marshall, a true freshman, ran 23 times for 100 yards in U-M’s bowl win Tueday, winning MVP honors.
In a revamped offense led by Chip Lindsey and probably quarterbacked by either Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene or true freshman Bryce Underwood, fellow Wolverines Ben Hall and Micah Ka’apana will also vie for the position.
With Haynes on board, Michigan now has eight transfer acquisitions. The others were Georgia LB Troy Bowles, Cal Poly OL Brady Norton, Arkansas DB TJ Metcalf, Arkansas DB Tevis Metcalf, Indiana WR Donaven McCulley, and Alabama DT Damon Payne, a Belleville alumnus.
