Next season, Tennessee football heads to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Sept. 12 in the Vols’ second game of the 2026 regular season. When UT meets the Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium, it’ll be tasked with stopping one of the most electric running backs in the country.
On Wednesday, Michigan transfer running back Justice Haynes announced his signing to Georgia Tech, according to On3. The publication also ranks him as the No. 27 overall player in the portal and No. 2 running back.
Haynes just completed his first season with the Wolverines in 2025. He registered 857 yards and 10 touchdowns on 121 carries. Each of these marks was a career high.
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Prior to his year at Michigan, Haynes spent a pair at Alabama. In 2024, he posted 448 yards and seven touchdowns on 79 carries. In the Tide’s loss to Tennessee in Neyland Stadium that year, he recorded 22 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and caught five passes for 34 yards.
As a freshman at Alabama in 2023, under Nick Saban, Haynes took 25 carries for 168 yards and two scores.
Out of high school, Haynes was considered a four-star recruit and the No. 55 player in the nation by 247. He was also ranked as the No. 4 running back in the 2023 class.
For Tennessee, it brings back breakout running back DeSean Bishop. He signed a new deal to return to the Vols for his redshirt-junior season after posting 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries a year ago. He has spent his entire career at Tennessee and went to Karns High School, just a short drive from UT’s campus.
Behind him are rising sophomores Daune Morris and Justin Baker. The Vols have also shown interest in adding a transfer back to the room to complement Bishop. So far, Tennessee has not been able to land any running backs, though.
