Yazeed Haynes raised his recruiting stock, bet on himself as a receiver, and committed to Georgia

Yazeed Haynes’ first concussion came when he was a 7-year-old youth football player with the Enon Eagles. His second came just a few years later, when he was transitioning to middle school football.

It was after that second concussion that Haynes’ father, Hasan, told his son that he had to stop playing football. Haynes followed his father’s guidance and started playing basketball, but he didn’t stay away from the gridiron long. Prior to his eighth-grade year at Germantown Academy, Haynes asked his father if he could return to football.

His father obliged, on the condition that Yazeed pivoted away from the running back position he had played growing up.

“When I was going back, my dad was asking me what position I would want to play,” Haynes said. “I wanted to keep playing running back, obviously, but he was like, ‘You take a lot of hits there.’

“At that time, I was kind of tall and skinny, so he was like, maybe you should think about playing receiver, and it just went from there.”

Haynes committed to his new position and began training to learn the intricacies and techniques of playing wide receiver. Reflecting back on those years, the elder Haynes recalls some of those trainers telling him that there was something there, that his son had a natural talent at the position.

Though Haynes was showing flashes in his training, it was a long time before he was able to showcase his skills on the field. As an underclassman at GA, Haynes’ playing time was limited. When he transferred to Neumann Goretti for his junior season, Haynes saw his playing time increase. Despite seeing more time on the field, however, Haynes didn’t command a large target share for a Saints team that had several seniors at the position.

Now listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Haynes — who will play his senior season at North Penn after transferring — didn’t have much game film through his first three years of high school. As a result, his recruiting process got off to a late start. His first slew of offers came in March, when he attracted seven Division I offers. The list of offers included several Power 5 programs, including Rutgers, Maryland, and West Virginia. At the end of March, Haynes committed to Rutgers.

Haynes’ stock continued to rise over the summer, especially after the three-star wideout was named MVP of the Rivals Camp in Coatesville in May. Following his breakout performance at the camp, Haynes wanted to continue to attend camps and take additional visits.

“They said he couldn’t go to any camps as he was committed to [Rutgers],” Hasan Haynes said. “So, he decided to decommit, and he wanted to bet on himself.”

Less than two weeks after he decommitted from Rutgers, Haynes clocked a 4.39-second 40-yard dash time at Penn State. College coaches had seen Haynes’ speed on film, but it wasn’t until it was officially clocked that offers started to roll in.

“The biggest question for [college coaches] was that he looked fast on film, but they wanted to get a watch on him,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “I don’t think he was in a lot of camps last year, so a lot of the schools said that they wouldn’t offer him until they got him on a clock on their watch.

“When he went to Penn State, he ran a great 40 time and really impressed them, and they offered right away. He was blowing up pretty well, but as soon as he went to Penn State, then I think he really started to become more national.”

A week after drawing his offer from Penn State, Haynes took an official visit to Penn State. Two days after that, he committed to the Nittany Lions. Though Haynes’ primary position was wide receiver, Penn State had recruited him as an athlete who could play either receiver or defensive back.

“[Penn State coach James Franklin] said, ‘With all my experience, your son is a third-round wide receiver, but he’s a first-round [defensive back],’” Hasan Haynes said. “So, they wanted him as DB.”

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Though those conversations suggested that Franklin’s preference was to play Haynes at defensive back, the Nittany Lions coach was still open to letting Haynes play receiver. However, Haynes knew that if he didn’t perform, he might have to be open to making a position switch.

“They were saying they would see how spring practice went and how camp went, and if they felt as if I wasn’t doing [well] enough at receiver, they would end up switching me to DB,” Haynes said.

It was no secret that Haynes’ preferred position was wide receiver, but he was open to the possibility of playing defensive back. When he received an offer from Kirby Smart’s Georgia program, though, suddenly Haynes had another option to consider.

Smart was interested in replenishing Georgia’s receiver corps, and it was clear early on that Haynes would be recruited as a wide receiver. Georgia’s staff also emphasized that Haynes, who plans to enroll early, would have the chance to compete for playing time as a freshman.

After spending much of his high school career battling to get on the field, Haynes was excited at the idea of getting to contribute from Day 1.

“It really helped boost my confidence up knowing that I can play at that level and be in there and play as a freshman,” Haynes said. “Just a great feeling knowing that I’m coming to a team that just won a national championship, and now I can help them get another one as soon as I get there.”

Those factors were enough for Haynes to reconsider his recruitment, and the day after taking an official visit to Georgia, Pennsylvania’s No. 10 player in the class of 2023 decommitted from Penn State. A month later, he committed to the Bulldogs.

After a recruiting process that included three commitments and two decommitments in just four months, Haynes is excited to bring his focus back to high school football this fall.

“[I have] a lot of comfortability knowing that everything I’ve done with it, I’ve got the college I want,” Haynes said. “Now, just ready to sit back on the season and get ready to continue my football career.”

He’s especially looking forward to taking on the role of North Penn’s top passing target. Haynes has never been the primary target in an offense, but after years of waiting for his opportunity, he’s ready to capitalize on it.

“I’m going to be getting the ball most of the time, and I’m the main receiver, and I might get double-teamed and stuff like that. So, it’s going to be a lot different, but I’m looking forward to it.”