ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s an odd thing in college football nowadays, with the transfer portal being unfettered, meaning if you can’t beat them, join them. That’s certainly not the mentality of most college athletes, but a player on one team could end up with their opponent the next year.
Such is the case for junior running back Justice Haynes, the former five-star who played for two years at Alabama.
Haynes saw his Crimson Tide take on the Wolverines for two straight years in the postseason, and he played in one of those games — the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Rose Bowl. Meeting with the media for the first time now wearing maize and blue, Haynes recalled preparing for that Michigan football team that ultimately ousted Bama from national championship contention in overtime. With that, he remembers seeing how ferocious the Wolverine defense was.
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“Tremendous amount of respect,” Haynes said. “First thing, I’m on offense, so the defensive end and D-line was special. I remember when we were getting ready for them — Mason, Kenneth, the boys, D-Moore, Josaiah, like all those boys that were out there playing then, like that was a special D-line group, as we saw in that game. But that whole defense was special. They had a special team. You could tell that they played physical, ran the football, and that they’re all about — the brotherhood, and you could tell that they really went out there and played for each other.”
But that’s not the only time in a calendar year that Alabama and Michigan faced off.
The Big Ten-SEC ‘rivals’ met for a second time within a year, and the third time within five, in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on New Year’s Eve, bookending 2024 with matchups against each other. However, this time, Haynes had already departed Tuscaloosa, having committed to the Wolverines just days before the matchup.
It was something of an awkward situation for the elite tailback, given that he’s adopted a new team, yet he had built bonds and relationships with the team it was playing against. Thus, watching the game was something of a mixed bag for Haynes.
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“I was actually with a couple of my hometown friends watching the game,” Haynes said. “But, yeah, it was kind of odd, you know. It was a bittersweet moment. My new team got the win. But I still have brothers on the team. I was part of that team last year. I’m close with a lot of those boys. So, I wanted to see them do well. I was glad it was a good game, you know. And Michigan got the dub, so, you know, it is what it is.”
Haynes is expected to co-star in the Michigan backfield with second-year running back Jordan Marshall, who had his breakout game in said ReliaQuest Bowl. Fans will get their first opportunity to see Haynes in maize and blue if they go to The Big House for the annual spring game on April 19.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Justice Haynes’ impressions of Michigan football before he left Bama
