One of the reasons to be excited about the Michigan football offense in the 2025 season is running back Justice Haynes, a former Alabama running back added via the transfer portal.
Haynes is expected to compete for the stating job with Jordan Marshall. They are expected to be 1A and 1B at running back.
Hayes averaged 5.9 yards per attempt with Alabama, playing one season under head coach Nick Saban, and in a recent interview, the former five-star running back compared the current Michigan football head coach, Sherrone Moore to Saban.
“He reminds me of a young Coach Saban in a lot of ways,” Haynes said via On3. “He’s going to kick it with you. He’s going to have fun with you. But then there is also a time to be serious and a time to be disciplined. Everything is discipline-oriented around there. We train differently from anyone else in the country. We work harder than anyone in the country, and we’re all about running the ball and stopping the run. That’s what we pride ourselves on, and that’s ultimately what led to my decision. I knew they were going to value the running back position, and I knew I could thrive in the offense.”
Haynes also talked about his decision to leave Alabama and eventually end up at Michigan. He said he needed a "change of scenery" and the Wolverines provided the perfect opportunity.
The five-star running back coming out of high school was productive in limited opportunities during his career with Alabama. It's hard to figure out why he didn't get more.
It's also interesting to hear Haynes talk about how Michigan works harder than any other program in the country. He's coming from Alabama, so he knows big-time college football.
Haynes also said Michigan "values" running the ball. Clearly, he didn't feel like Alabama did. The ground game was a core reason the Wolverines won three consecutive Big Ten championships, and the national championship in 2023, so Haynes isn't wrong.
Hopefully, he isn't wrong about Sherrone Moore being a "Young Nick Saban" either.