Alabama got a big-time surprise on Sunday with 2023 four-star running Justice Haynes announcing his commitment to the Tide.
The 2023 Alabama recruiting class received a surprise on Sunday afternoon in the form of a commitment. 2023 running back [autotag]Justice Haynes[/autotag] announced that he was committed to Alabama via his Twitter account.
Many experts predicted that Haynes would commit to Georgia. Why? His father, Verron Hayes, was a running back at Georgia for three seasons before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With Kirby Smart’s recruiting prowess over the years, no one saw this coming. Here is what Haynes told Rivals’ Jed May about the Alabama coaching staff’s reaction when he notified them that he was committing:
“Coach Gillespie was like, ‘Wow.’ I think a lot of them thought Georgia. Saban said a thing, he said, ‘That just made my day, to be honest. I did not expect that.’”
It caught most folks off guard, but it certainly wasn’t impossible for Nick Saban and the rest of the staff. Haynes took an official visit to Alabama from June 17-19. He also took an official visit to Georgia on June 3. Other schools that received official visits were USC, Florida, and Ohio State. However, it was really a two-team race between the Bulldogs and the Tide to land Haynes’ commitment.
In the end, running backs coach [autotag]Robert Gillespie[/autotag] and the rest of the coaching staff were able to add the No. 4 overall running back in the country, according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings.
Haynes has played his high school ball at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, but he is now going to spend his senior season at Buford High School. Other Alabama players that once played at Buford are Seth McLaughlin, Isaiah Bond, and Jake Pope. The commitment is the first running back addition to the class. When Haynes was asked about Richard Young by On3’s Chad Simmons, here is what he had to say:
“Now I will be recruiting Richard Young. I am committed, I know he likes Alabama a lot, and I want him to join me. We can be a two-headed monster at Alabama.”
If that gives any indication, it is that Haynes is going to help recruit other Alabama targets and that he is locked in with the Tide. The Alabama coaching staff is certainly happy to land the Peach state native.
