Justice Haynes was previously regarded as the successor in a storied tradition of exceptional running backs for the Alabama Crimson Tide. However, two years later, Haynes is preparing to leave after a lackluster tenure in Tuscaloosa and is eager to revitalize his career with the Michigan Wolverines.
Haynes performed well in his limited time with the Tide this season, rushing 79 times for 448 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he shared playing time with teammate Jam Miller, who received almost twice the number of carries. Now ex-Bama running back Bo Scarbrough, who won two national championships in 2015 and 2017, is criticizing the former future star.
“Yeah, you talked a lot about the bama standard, then abandoned us when you weren’t delivering,” he commented on an Instagram post about Haynes’ move to Michigan.
Before the 2024 season, Haynes talked about assuming a leadership position with the Crimson Tide.
“I feel quite at ease taking on a leadership position,” he stated. “I had excellent leaders in my room last year like Jase McClellan and Roydell [Williams] who guided me and showed me the Bama standard.” They handed off the torch. They have left now, so it’s up to Jam [Miller] and me to maintain the level of excellence in the running back group. Overall, as an older child raised in the program, I experienced the Coach Saban approach. Continuing that legacy and blending Coach DeBoer’s fresh ideas — just maintaining this momentum.
In that regard, Scarbrough indeed makes a valid point. However, it’s difficult to argue that Haynes didn’t perform when he recorded an average of 5.7 yards per carry. For the sake of comparison, Arizona State standout Cam Skattebo recorded an average of 5.8 yards per carry this season (though with a significantly heavier workload).
Ultimately, it appears to be nothing more than sour grapes from Scarbrough.
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