THE FLATS – Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes (Loganville, Ga./Grayson H.S.) continues to rake in national recognition ahead of the 2025 season, with inclusion on the Doak Walker Award watch list becoming his latest honor on Tuesday.
The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to college football’s most outstanding running back.
A redshirt senior, Haynes enters the 2025 campaign as the first Georgia Tech running back to rush for at least 900 yards in back-to-back seasons since Jonathan Dwyer in 2008 and 2009. As a junior in 2024, he amassed 1,110 total yards from scrimmage (944 rushing, 166 receiving) and 12 touchdowns (nine rushing, three receiving), en route to earning all-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition for the second-straight year.
As a sophomore in 2023, Haynes moved from wide receiver to running back during fall camp and went on to become Georgia Tech’s first 1,000-yard rusher in six years. His 1,257 all-purpose yards in ’23 (1,053 rushing, 151 receiving and 47 on kickoff returns) included 128 in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl versus UCF. He was named MVP of the Yellow Jackets’ 30-17 Gasparilla Bowl victory.
Off the field, Haynes earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia Tech in May, earning Dean’s List recognition with a 4.0 grade point average his final semester and earning admission to Tech’s MBA program this fall.
In addition to his inclusion on Doak Walker Award watch list, Haynes is also a member of the official watch lists for the 2025 Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award, which both honor the nation’s top player. He is also a preseason all-ACC selection.
The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, which consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives, will select 10 semifinalists and three finalists for the 2025 Doak Walker Award in November. The recipient will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards, Dec. 12 on ESPN.
Georgia Tech has posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in a decade and returns five all-ACC honorees from last season’s squad, including Keylan Rutledge, an all-America guard and first-team all-conference selection. Other top performers returning for the Yellow Jackets in 2025 include all-ACC selections DT Jordan van den Berg, LB Kyle Efford, Haynes and WR Malik Rutherford, as well as two of the league’s top quarterbacks in senior Haynes King and redshirt freshman Aaron Philo.
Haynes and the Yellow Jackets open the 2025 season on Friday, Aug. 29 at Colorado (8 p.m. ET – ESPN). The Jackets then open their home slate versus Gardner-Webb on Sept. 6 (3:30 p.m. – ACC Network Extra) before their highly anticipated ACC opener against Clemson on Sept. 13 (noon – ABC or ESPN).
2025 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
2025 Georgia Tech football season, mini-plan and single-game tickets are on sale now.
Season tickets include the best seats for the Yellow Jackets’ six-game slate at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, which features Atlantic Coast Conference showdowns versus Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech season ticket members also have elevated seating priority for tickets purchased for the 2025 edition of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” versus archrival Georgia, set for Nov. 28 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Tech’s 2025 mini-plan includes tickets to the home opener versus Gardner-Webb, Hall of Fame Weekend against Virginia Tech and Senior Day versus Pitt. Mini-plans offer a better value than purchasing seats at single-game prices without the commitment of a full season ticket.
For more information and to purchase 2025 Georgia Tech football tickets today, visit ramblinwreck.com/footballtickets.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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