Tigers' newest RB offer comes away impressed with Clemson visit

Jamarius Haynes was on campus Saturday and received his first major offer from Clemson.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Oct 25 16:44:03 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson's newest running back offer made his way to Saturday's game against Syracuse, and he came away impressed with what he saw.

Running backs coach CJ Spiller has been looking for a quality running back to add to Clemson's 2023 class. The Tigers have missed a few targets thus far, but Spiller may have found his guy in Jamarius Haynes (6-0 180) of Roanoke, Alabama. In fact, Spiller is the only coach to offer Haynes at this point.

“It started last week. We were talking starting Monday,” Haynes said. “Come Wednesday, and they were trying to get me to come to the (Syracuse) game, which he didn’t think I was going to make it because it was late notice. They didn’t expect me to show up, but I showed up. We were just talking, and he took me on a tour. Then we ended up going into the coaches’ room after the game and he gave me the offer. I was shocked about it because they were my first offer. It’s a different feeling when you go from zero offers to an offer like Clemson. He said he’s going to try to get me back up there soon on an official visit.”

The visit was the first exposure for Haynes to a Clemson football game, and he came away impressed.

“I loved it,” Haynes said. “The fans are good. Everybody treated me right, and the coaches are very family oriented. It meant a lot to me to know that they run the ball (60 times vs Syracuse).”

So, Spiller is first to the party with Haynes, which is hard to believe, considering he’s been one of the top running backs in Alabama all season. Haynes said he attended several summer camps but he has suffered from a lack of publicity this season. Haynes said his performance in one of his early games is what got Spiller’s attention.

“The game I had toward the beginning of the season when I put up 476 yards in one game,” Haynes said of that performance in which he carried the ball 30 times. “He has said he likes my balance, my speed and my ability to cut.”

Since getting the Clemson offer, Haynes said he’s been contacted by Vanderbilt and Auburn. He has not set up any other visits at this point.

So far this season, Haynes has rushed for 1,278 yards with 18 rushing touchdowns and two receiving scores.