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Jamal Haynes had a crucial decision to make.

He just finished his second Division I season at Georgia Tech but only appeared in 11 games without recording a catch. Adam Carter, Haynes’ high school head coach, said other schools expressed interest in having the Yellow Jackets wide receiver transfer to their program following the season.

After discussing the possibility with his mother, Annette Johnson, Haynes felt secure returning to GT. His camp knew his time to shine would soon arrive.

“Stay where you are, continue working on your degree and everything will fall into its place in time,” Johnson said of Haynes remaining at Georgia Tech.

They didn’t know, however, that his time would come from playing a different position. Haynes moved from wide receiver to running back during Georgia Tech’s fall camp in 2023. After making the positional change, Haynes quickly became a primary weapon out of GT’s backfield, rushing for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023. He became the Yellow Jackets’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2017 and was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Third Team. On Saturday, Haynes and No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC) take on Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) in the JMA Wireless Dome.

“My first impressions were that he was a running back, but (in high school) he played receiver,” said Matt Park, who also coached Haynes while he was in high school. “Either way, he’s just a little ball of muscle.”

Playing football at Grayson High School (Georgia), Haynes played in a region his teammate, Grady Bryant, called “the SEC county of Georgia.” This provided Haynes with unmatched opportunity and competition.

At Grayson, Haynes played alongside future National Football League Draft selections Wanya Morris and Owen Pappoe. They were selected in the third and fifth rounds, respectively, in 2023, helping Grayson become one of 11 schools to have multiple players drafted that year.

As a senior, Haynes helped lead the Rams to a Georgia 7A state title. To get to that point, Carter and Park noted the receiver was disciplined in improving his craft. Haynes received offers from Maryland, Pittsburgh and Purdue, among others, but decided to stay close to home. On Jan. 26, 2020, Haynes committed to the Yellow Jackets, relocating just over 30 miles from his hometown.

Despite minimal playing time in his first two seasons at GT, Haynes remained disciplined by sticking with the program. When he arrived back on campus for fall camp before the 2023 season, his time in the backfield began.

Position changes usually take time for players to acclimate to their new role. But for Haynes, there wasn’t as long of an adjustment period because he played running back for much of his youth. Despite concerns about whether his 5-foot-9 frame could handle an every-down role, Haynes quickly established himself as GT’s featured running back.

In his second game as a full-time D-I running back, Haynes rushed for 113 yards on nine carries. It was a testament to his elite efficiency, which became one of his strengths as his 6.1 yards per carry ranked third in the ACC.

In their second-to-last 2023 regular season game, the Yellow Jackets faced Syracuse. Though GT still had another game the following week, it was against No. 1 Georgia and it needed one more win to secure its first bowl game appearance since 2018.

Nearly five minutes into the game, Georgia Tech was on Syracuse’s 15-yard line and Haynes caught a swing pass on the left side of the field. The running back was dead to rights as he approached the sideline but he changed direction, forcing linebacker Derek McDonald to slip.

As Haynes worked his way back toward the middle of the field, his teammates sealed a lane that he exploded through. When he approached the goal line, two Syracuse defenders stood in his way, but Haynes plowed right through for the first score of the game. Haynes went on to notch 99 total yards and another score en route to the Yellow Jackets defeating the Orange 31-22.

Now, with two years of collegiate eligibility remaining, Haynes’ camp is bullish on his chance to become an NFL draft pick.

“If you haven’t seen a man cry on national television, you will definitely see ‘em rolling down his face if he got drafted,” Johnson said. “It would be the highlight of his life.”

Published on September 5, 2024 at 12:34 am