Clemson football lands Jamarius Haynes, adds running back to 2023 recruiting class

Todd Shanesy, Greenville News
·2 min read

Jamarius Haynes, a high school running back who rushed for nearly 500 yards in a single game this season, is coming to Clemson.

Haynes was the only Clemson recruit who had an offer but made no public commitment until Wednesday's start of the three-day early signing period. Just last week, after receiving offers from Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina, Haynes said he would wait until National Signing Day in February and let the offers keep rolling in. But then he changed his mind and joined the Tigers' top-10 recruiting class. Clemson has signed 26 players.

Haynes, from Roanoke, Alabama, led 4A Handley High School to a 54-41 win against a region rival with 30 carries for 476 yards, second-most in state history for a game. He had 322 yards on touchdowns alone, scoring from 86, 72, 58, 54 and 52 yards.

His first offer came from Clemson about a month later. Haynes (6-foot-1, 180) also had offers from Washington State, Auburn, UAB, Western Kentucky and Chattanooga.

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In his last two seasons, Haynes ran for 2,669 yards and 37 touchdowns in 24 games, averaging 10.6 yards per carry.

Clemson's only other scholarship running back in this signing class is Jarvis Green from Dutch Fork. Green had no other offers from Power 5 programs. The Tigers added Peyton Streko of Cumming, Georgia, as a preferred walk-on.

Will Shipley and Phil Mafah are the only two Clemson running backs returning with much experience. Shipley has run for 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, while Mafah added 476 and four TDs. Kobe Pace, who dealt with injuries and fell behind Mafah, is transferring to Virginia. Two freshmen, Domonique Thomas and Keith Adams Jr., were limited to four games or fewer to preserve redshirt seasons. Thomas had 7 carries in four games; Adams three carries in two games.

Clemson (11-2) plays Dec. 30 (8 p.m., ESPN) in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee (10-2) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football adds RB Jamarius Haynes to 2023 recruiting class