Former Alabama star Bo Scarbrough has slammed Justice Haynes for turning his back on the team after he joined Michigan.
The talented sophomore running back was considered the latest in a long line of great running backs for the Crimson Tide, following in the footsteps of the likes of Scarbrough. But Haynes has left Alabama behind in the hope of reigniting his career in Michigan with the Wolverines.
However, the move has irked former Tide and NFL running back Scarbrough who hit out at Haynes’ decision, accusing him of turning his back on his teammates. “Ay guy did all that talking about bama standard then turn your back on us when you ain’t producing,” he said.
The 30-year-old was Alabama’s leading rusher in 2016 and was a seventh-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft. Scarbrough was then signed to the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars before featuring on the rosters of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions, making his league debut for the latter. Following a second stint in Seattle and being signed to the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad, Scarbrough retired in 2024 after playing for the Birmingham Stallions.
Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer reflected on the departures of both Haynes and Damon Payne Jr., who is also heading to Ann Arbor, wishing both players the best of luck. “I’m just going to say this, I think I’m always going to wish the guys that are in our program the best and those are two really good, solid young men and I’m always going to wish them the best,” DeBoer admitted.
“And I hear the word fit coming from Coach Moore’s conversation talk here and that’s what you always hope is that the college experience for anyone that you get to coach, you want it to be in your program, you want it to be in your program,” he continued.
“Ultimately this time comes and goes really fast and so I’m always going to wish the guys the best that were part of the year that we had here or any time I’ve coached throughout my career.”
Haynes’ exit comes after he discussed taking a leadership role with Alabama prior to the 2024 season. “I’m very comfortable stepping into a leadership role,” he said. “I had really good leaders in my room last year as far as Jase McClellan and Roydell [Williams] that taught me the way, taught me the Bama standard.
“They passed the torch on. They’re gone now, so now it’s up to Jam [Miller] and I to uphold the standard in the running back room. Just as a whole, as an older kid growing up in the program, I saw the Coach Saban way. Just carrying on that legacy and incorporating Coach DeBoer’s new philosophies — just keeping this thing rolling.”
