Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-14vs Colorado | 19 | 64 | 3.4 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-45vs Tennessee | 14 | 81 | 5.8 | 1 | 20 | |
| Wk 3 | W 44-11vs Mercer | 22 | 141 | 6.4 | 2 | 31 | Season-high 141 yds |
| Total | 55 | 286 | 5.2 | 3 | 31 |
#22
Justice Haynes
Justice Haynes has worn three jerseys in four years -- Alabama, Michigan, and now Georgia Tech -- and the move that finally makes sense is the one that brought him home. The nation's former No. 1 running back recruit out of Buford, Georgia is back in his own backyard, a half-hour from campus, after a Michigan tenure that ended in a season-ending injury and a messy exit over money.
5′11″ · 210 lb · Alpharetta, GA · Buford H.S.
CFB Index 47 · #157 of 310 RBsHigh confidenceTransferred Michigan → Georgia Tech for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
286
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 16 car · 159 yds · 3 TD -- top 1% rushing TDs game. -- Best game: 141 rush yds, 2 TD, 26 rec yds, vs Mercer
The play that turned itSwung Michigan from 40% to 76% to win.Michigan at Nebraska · 30-27
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Justice Haynes has worn three jerseys in four years -- Alabama, Michigan, and now Georgia Tech -- and the move that finally makes sense is the one that brought him home. The nation's former No. 1 running back recruit out of Buford, Georgia is back in his own backyard, a half-hour from campus, after a Michigan tenure that ended in a season-ending injury and a messy exit over money.
- Signed as a 5-star recruit to Alabama in 2023.
- Transferred from Michigan to Georgia Tech in 2026.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Hype = tape
-8aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 92nd percentile of RBs; the tape says
100th pctl our rushing-value metric (wEPA) RBs · 140 qualified, n=134
— the discourse is fair.Aura — fan perception92nd pctl
Production — on-field100th pctl
n=134 mentions · cohort: RBs · 140 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our rushing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Fans warmer than rivals
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
26.5own fans
-7.3rival fans
Grabbed a ticket off of StubHub on a whim Thursday afternoon and had a great time. I’ve been living in metro Phoenix the past 23 years before moving back to Michigan earlier this year, and hadn’t been to the Big House since Brady was QB1…
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
325 windows · 2026 fan posts
justice×333.0tech×20.5mendoza×106.3georgia×17.8brent×159.8key×31.2similar×49.1king×27.2
“Unironically so excited to see Justice Haynes in a Brent Key offense.”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
The story
The Michigan year was a tease. In seven games before the injury, Haynes ran for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns at 7.1 yards a carry -- a per-touch rate that, by our play-by-play, no other Power Four running back in the modern era has matched over a real workload. Then the season ended, and so did his time in Ann Arbor: by reporting, the split came down to NIL money and a desire for a change, and he was in the portal by January.
Georgia Tech is the homecoming. Buford is barely thirty minutes from campus, and Brent Key's program landed him to be the unquestioned featured back -- the centerpiece of a run-first offense that should finally hand him the volume Michigan's committee never did. The Doak Walker buzz is already there; Georgia Tech fans had him tagged a 'Doak Walker RB of the year candidate' before he'd taken a single handoff in white and gold.
The forward question isn't the talent. Our perception-versus-production model has fans rating him in the 98th percentile and his actual production in the 100th -- a rare case where the hype is fully earned, not inflated. It's durability and volume: can a back who has never carried a full healthy season as the clear lead, at his third school, turn elite-per-carry efficiency into the counting stats a Doak Walker actually requires? Get there, and the journeyman label flips to the best back in the country.
SOURCES
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Scouts and fans describe Haynes the same way, and the play-by-play backs every word: an explosive 'one-cut-and-go' runner with 'home-run hitting long-strider speed' and 'knockout-inducing contact balance' in the open field, per Pro Football Network's scouting profile. The data is just as loud -- a 94th-percentile yards-per-carry, a 90th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate (he finishes, not just gets to the second level), and an 92nd-percentile EPA per carry (real value on every touch). The 81st-percentile explosive-run rate and a 75-yard long are the booms fans clip; the 90th-percentile rushing success rate says he's efficient on early downs too, not boom-or-bust. The honest limit is the one evaluators flag and his stat line confirms -- 13 catches for 50 yards in 2025 -- he's a between-the-tackles hammer more than a true three-down back. At a compact 5-foot-10, 210 pounds he runs angry and bigger than the frame, the kind of volume early-down back an offense can build a downhill identity around -- if the body finally holds up.
Written by our staff.
20236 games
- Signed with Alabama5-star out of Buford
202412 games
The role got bigger.
- All-SEC
20257 games
- Entered the portal
- All-Big Tenthird
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-BIG TEN
All-Big Ten mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Georgia Tech
Played his entire career under Brent Key.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Georgia Tech
2025Michigan
2026Georgia Tech
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Georgia Tech | 55 | 286 | 5.2 | 3 | -- |
| 2025 | Michigan | 121 | 857 | 7.1 | 10 | -- |
| 2024 | Alabama | 79 | 448 | 5.7 | 7 | -- |
| 2023 | Alabama | 25 | 168 | 6.7 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 280 | 1,759 | 6.3 | 22 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Georgia Tech | 9 | 66 | 7.3 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | Michigan | 13 | 50 | 3.8 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | Alabama | 17 | 99 | 5.8 | 0 | -- |
| 2023 | Alabama | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 39 | 215 | 5.5 | 2 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Justice Haynes's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 44–11
vs Mercer
141 rush yds (22 car) · 2 TD
Dominant 33-point win at home against Mercer.
With A. Mendoza — 249 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.2 · -8 rush yds (1 car) · A. Bacchetta — 51.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 1 inside the 20
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · Mercer · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.84Justice Haynes 31 Yd Run (Aidan Birr PAT blocked)
- Week 3 · Mercer · 4&1 · Q2 · EPA +2.79Justice Haynes 1 Yd Run (Aidan Birr Kick)
- Week 2 · Tennessee · 3&7 · Q2 · EPA +2.46(03:10) #22 J.Haynes rush middle for 9 yards gain to the UT 43 (#6 Q.Moss), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Tennessee · 2&2 · Q3 · EPA +2.07(07:10) No Huddle #15 A.Mendoza pass complete short left to #22 J.Haynes caught at UT 02, for 2 yards to the UT 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:10. The previous play is under automatic review - "Runner broke the plane". CALL UPHELD #33 A.Birr kick attempt good (H: #47 A.Bacchetta, LS: #50 R.Thomas)
- Week 3 · Mercer · 2&1 · Q1 · EPA +1.90Justice Haynes 1 Yd pass from Alberto Mendoza (Aidan Birr Kick)
- Week 2 · Tennessee · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.80(04:18) #22 J.Haynes rush middle for 20 yards gain to the GT 45 (#0 A.Campbell; #1 T.Metcalf), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Mercer · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.77(09:32) Shotgun #22 J.Haynes rush middle for 20 yards gain to the MU 45 (#4 C.Moore; #5 J.Richardson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Tennessee · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.71(11:40) No Huddle #15 A.Mendoza pass complete short right to #22 J.Haynes caught at GT 36, for 19 yards to the GT 44 (#13 E.Spillman), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Colorado · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -1.48(14:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 J.Haynes rush middle for 3 yards loss to the CU 43 (#7 R.Fontenette)
- Week 1 · Colorado · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +1.41(04:20) #22 J.Haynes rush left for 11 yards gain to the CU 36 (#35 T.Martinez), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +141 rushing yards, +2 rushing TD, +2 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2023Alabama12-2HC: Nick Saban · Run-heavy
2024Alabama9-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Run-leaning
2025Michigan9-4HC: Biff Poggi · Run-leaning
2026Georgia Tech1-2HC: Brent Key · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: rec yards (88th percentile). Strength: receptions (88th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (7)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / carry
92nd → 72nd percentile
Success rate
90th → 62nd percentile
Explosive rate
81st → 58th percentile
Yards / carry
96th → 55th percentile
TD rate
92nd → 68th percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
53 of 55 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
47%53 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds15%of carries
8 carries
Grind
1–3 yds34%of carries
18 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds36%of carries
19 carries
Explosive
10+ yds15%of carries
8 carries
3 of 4 (75%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 4 (50%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
5.2 yds/carry on 55 carries · 15% explosive (10+ yds) · 47% success rate.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 95.3 | 5.2 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 95.3 | 5.2 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Key
Pass share
46.7%
85 pass / 97 run
Plays / game
60.7
3 games
Team sack rate
7.9%
101 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Scouts and fans describe Haynes the same way, and the play-by-play backs every word: an explosive 'one-cut-and-go' runner with 'home-run hitting long-strider speed' and 'knockout-inducing contact balance' in the open field, per Pro Football Network's scouting profile. The data is just as loud -- a 94th-percentile yards-per-carry, a 90th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate (he finishes, not just gets to the second level), and an 92nd-percentile EPA per carry (real value on every touch). The 81st-percentile explosive-run rate and a 75-yard long are the booms fans clip; the 90th-percentile rushing success rate says he's efficient on early downs too, not boom-or-bust. The honest limit is the one evaluators flag and his stat line confirms -- 13 catches for 50 yards in 2025 -- he's a between-the-tackles hammer more than a true three-down back. At a compact 5-foot-10, 210 pounds he runs angry and bigger than the frame, the kind of volume early-down back an offense can build a downhill identity around -- if the body finally holds up.
Our classifier reads him the same way: wins in space out of the backfield.
DNA match
Player DNA
Satellite Back
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
RB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Devontae Booker’s 2015 season.
81%match
NFL Rd 4
Matches Devontae on
Height
Yards / carry
Yards / reception
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Journey Wyche’s path through Chattanooga.
Journey Wyche
99%match
Matches Journey on
Yards per carry
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to LJ Johnson Jr.'s senior season at SMU (2024).
Matches LJ on
Receiving share
Weight
Yards / carry
Player DNA
Players who play like Justice Haynes
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #126
Peaked at #126 this season.
The backfield · Georgia Tech
- #22Justice Haynes857 rushing yards · 2025
- Malachi Hosley697 rushing yards · 2025
- #20J.P. Powell72 rushing yards · 2025
- #1Trelain Maddox38 rushing yards · 2025
- #24Shane Marshall10 rushing yards · 2025
2 more on the roster · Georgia Tech team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology