Justice Haynes injury update: Michigan star to undergo surgery, recovery timeline unknown

Michigan junior running back Justice Haynes is set to undergo surgery on his injured foot, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Haynes’ recovery timetable is yet to be determined, but there’s hope the former Alabama transfer could return at some point later this season, per Zenitz.

Haynes, the Big Ten’s leading rusher averaging 122.43 rushing yards per game this season, missed Saturday’s game against Purdue after appearing to suffer an injury late the week prior at Michigan State. Before his injury, Haynes had 152 rushing yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 31-20 win over the rival Spartans.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was cagey about Haynes’ availability on his radio show prior to the Purdue game, but did acknowledge his running back was banged up.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Moore said when asked if he expects Haynes to play against Purdue. “We’ll see what he looks like as he goes through the week.”

Before returning against Michigan State, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Haynes missed the previous six quarters with an injury to his abdominal/rib area. While he was out, sophomore Jordan Marshall rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games, including 110 yards and a score on 15 carries against Michigan State. Marshall iced the game with a 56-yard touchdown run to make it 31-13.

Before his injuries, Haynes was among the nation’s top rushers this season and led the Big Ten with 857 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 7.1 yards per carry in his first season with the Wolverines.

Haynes, the son of former Georgia and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Verron Haynes, was a key offseason addition out of the transfer portal for Michigan. Prior to transferring, Haynes rushed for 616 yards and nine touchdowns over two seasons at Alabama, averaging nearly 6 yards per carry.

Sherrone Moore makes the case for Justice Haynes to be in Heisman consideration

Before running into injury trouble, Haynes was having a career season with Michigan, and was leading the Big Ten Conference in rushing yards through the first half of the regular season. As a result of his strong start, Moore suggested it might be time for Haynes’ Heisman Trophy campaign to begin.

“Animal, animal. He should be up for the Heisman,” Moore said of his tailback on Monday. “Fifth game with 100-plus yards. … He’s consistent. He works his tail off. He’s a great human being. He’s becoming a leader in the right ways. So yeah, I’m glad we got just his hands on our team.”

Moore described him as an explosive player, and remembered watching him on film while he was at Alabama. The same type of player has shown up in Ann Arbor this season.

“I think he had the most explosive runs on (Alabama),” Moore said. “So yeah, I saw it. I knew it. And obviously, Tony had a relationship with him. As soon as he called, you know, as soon as he got in the portal, the first person he called was Tony.

“And yeah, and what you saw even more is when he got here in the spring, like, just telling you, he never got caught ever. I’m glad he’s on our team because he never got caught whenever he had those explosive runs.”

— On3’s Pete Nakos and Barkley Truax contributed to this report.