Greg McElroy explains ranking for Jamal Haynes on Top-10 college football running back list

Georgia Tech RB Jamal Haynes has taken off the past two seasons after switching to the position. That has him among the best running backs, both in the ACC and around the NCAA, ahead of his fifth season this fall in Atlanta.

Greg McElroy recently rated Haynes just outside the top-five with him at sixth in his top-ten running backs in college football. That’s with him succeeding in a Yellow Jacket offense that has highlighted the speed from him and some of their other targets on offense.

“Now, the first thing that jumps out anytime you watch Georgia Tech, almost regardless of the position, is just speed. They have so much speed at so many different positions, whether it’s Eric Singleton at wide receiver, (Malik) Rutherford at wide receiver, Jamal Haynes at running back, Haynes King at quarterback. They can run and they create a lot of problems for the opposing defense because every single one of those aforementioned guys has home run-hitting potential,” said McElroy last week during the rating on ‘Always College Football’. “Now, Singleton is no longer there but Haynes, King, and Rutherford are all still rocking and rolling for the Wrambling Wreck.”

“It’s been highly, highly impressive to see exactly how this offense has been built around their playmakers at running back, quarterback, and at wide receiver,” McElroy said.

Haynes is among the players who has most benefitted from the offense coached by OC Buster Faulkner. He has, over the past two seasons, led Georgia Tech in rushing with 343 carries for 2,003 yards, at 5.8 yards per carry and an average of 77.1 per game, and 16 touchdowns. He has also caught 48 passes for 317 yards and four more scores. That earned him an All-ACC Third Team selection in 2023 and a selection as an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2024.

In the words of Brent Key from their season-opening win last fall in Ireland – “Are you kidding me? Run the ball!”. That mindset, from staff to the offensive line to the rushers, has given the Yellow Jackets one of the better rushing offenses in the country with Haynes taking full advantage of that approach.

“You also look too at how often this offense creates space for the running backs? And now, wow, hey, yards before contact as a runner is highly advantageous, right. But, when you combine the yards before contact with the top-end speed and, by the time Haynes gets touched for the first time, he’s already at full speed? That’s a pretty great place to be in,” said McElroy. “Haynes, I think, and his offensive line and the system they use? They really put Haynes in position to be very, very successful.”

“I also think too, his ability to accelerate? I mean, the guy is through the hole in an instant. Just in an instant,” McElroy added.

Haynes should again be one of the better backs in the Atlantic Coast Conference with him even more featured by GT. Assuming he stays healthy, McElroy is expecting that too as he had him just outside the top-five backs in the entire sport.

“He was a little banged up from time to time last year but he certainly has the juice to be among the best backs in the ACC when he’s at 100%,” said McElroy. “He can always be a threat to take it the distance. From the one-yard line to the plus-one yard line, he can get the job done. And, if you give him just a seam, just a tiny seam and he hits it with speed, he could always be out the gates.