Mississippi Class of 2016 OL/DL prospect Preston Haynes talks Ole Miss, Arkansas State, and Itawamba one-day college camps

Written by Ryan Wright

When we last caught up with Lewisburg High School offensive/defensive lineman Preston Haynes in mid-May he was completely off the radar. Haynes has the size, 6’4”, 310 pounds, the raw strength, and emerging skills but few regional college recruiters had really pushed forward on him for reasons out of his control.

Now that Haynes has made the entire one-day college camp circuit rounds everyone in the area is well aware of him. So far he has attended at least 12 camps and has secured one offer from Mississippi junior college Itawamba. Schools like Central Arkansas, Memphis, and Arkansas State are just a few of the schools that are seemingly in a wait-and-see mode wanting to see senior film or get a chance to scout him during a game in-season before making that final evaluation.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Preston to get a summary of how his college camp circuit has gone so far.

 

Preston what all camps have you attended so far this summer?

“Let’s see, I went to Arkansas State, Itawamba, Ole Miss, Bethel, and Southeast Missouri. When I went to Mississippi College, Louisiana-Lafayette was there along with UCA and a couple of other schools. I’ve been to Central Arkansas, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Itawamba for two days, and today I went to a camp at Bell Haven right down the road.

“I’ve been on the go. My mom said I’ve traveled 3,000 miles so far. It’s been crazy but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Riding in the car is hard for me to sit in the car 2-3 hours at a time but I feel like it’ll all be worth it when National Signing Day comes.”

How did the Ole Miss camp go?

“It was good. I didn’t like how many kids. There were 300-400 kids but that’s Ole Miss they’re going to draw about every player in the state to their camps. It was more like a workout than learning a lot. It was kind of them seeing who wanted to compete, who is flexible, who has the quickest feet, who can block the best, and all of this stuff. I’m not complaining, it was different from the other ones I’ve been to but not a bad different. I liked it. It was nice. Coach (Matt) Luke down there is a great guy.”

Did you get to talk to any of the coaches after the camp?

“Yeah I talked to Coach Luke. Coach Luke was talking to players from his recruiting area. When he was done I talked to him. I asked him if he had any feedback. He told me to work on my footwork. Since then 2-3 days a week I get on the speed and agility ladder to get my feet faster and work on my footwork.

“Before I got out and saw how good some of these guys are I thought my footwork was decent for 311 pounds. I get out and see some of these guys and they are freaks how quick they can move being 6’6” or 6’7”, 300 pounds, and running a 5.5-forty.”

How did the Arkansas State camp go?

“It was a really good camp. What really made it for me was the coaches and the environment. All the coaches were fired up to be there. They wanted to make us better. They wanted to teach us things we did not know and not just get a look at us or evaluate us for recruiting purposes. They to make us better so we will have a better season. That helped standout in my head. Most camps are going to run you around, get your 40, do some one-on-ones and make you go home. They were different. We didn’t do one-on-ones too long but I learned a lot there too. I learned pass sets, running blocking, and where to put your hands, stuff like that. It was a good camp. I enjoyed it.”

How did the Itawamba camp go for you?

“I’m not going to lie, my expectations going down there were low. I pulled up, took a route to the campus. I realize this place is really nice. I walked into the football office, there were 4-5 coaches in there. I see Coach (Cody) Woodiel, he greets me and he said, “what’s up big man?” They all knew my name and greeted me with a smile. It was a good experience for me.

“Once the camp started I learned more in two days than I think anybody has ever taught me. It was all Coach Woodiel. He was really good at explaining what I am supposed to do. How I need to keep my hands tucked in and exactly how many steps I need to take. I learned something I’ve never knew how to do called independent punch. It’s one hand at a time knocking them around one hand at a time. I learned a whole lot, a lot that will help me this season. It was a good camp.”

Of all the camps you’ve attended outside of the Itawamba camp, what were some of the other camps where you showed out?

“I had a really good camp at Central Arkansas. That was another really good experience. Coach D.J. Looney, the tight end coach, he’s the one that has been recruiting me from there. I walked up and everyone knew my name. I felt like I was at home. Everyone was so friendly.

“I learned a lot. We didn’t do one-on-ones for too long but they had some really quick defensive ends there. They had some tall skinny guys running a 4.5-forty that really should be playing wide receiver. They were rushing me on the edge. I’m not going to lie, I got beat a couple of times but nobody is perfect. Those guys are my weakness. Going up against a defensive tackle or a nose tackle, I’ll win. The speed guys on the edge you got to get back and cover some ground. Once I got more comfortable and adjusted I did pretty good handling the speed guys off the edge.”

Have any new programs started showing interest in you since you’ve attended all of these camps or have any of the schools increased their interest in you?

“Right now, it’s a non-contact period. The only time they can talk to you is at a camp. I feel like UCA, I talked to their offensive line coach afterwards, he was telling me you had a good day and work on your footwork but we like what we saw. They invited me back down on July 19. It’s like their elite camp. They’ll have some guys there that have offers.

“I guess it’ll depend when the non-contact period is over. I’ll find out then who will be talking to me and not. If none of them get in touch with me just means I have more work to do.”

Besides the UCA camp coming up on July 19, do you have any other camps scheduled going forward?

“Yeah, on July 1, a week from now I have the Southern Elite Combine. I think they’ll pick out the Top 150 that are there. I think I have about a week off. I might go to Vanderbilt if possible. Memphis and another one that I can’t think of. I still have football workouts but for the most part I don’t have anymore camps.”

What has been your average height and weight that the different college camps?

“I’m usually at 6’4” and my weight is somewhere between 309 to 315. I need to lose a little bit of weight and put on some more muscle. I’ll do that in July.”

What has been your best 40-yard dash time at the camps?

“I ran a 5.5 at Itawamba. That’s been my best one so far.”

What was your best broad jump?

“Today I actually jumped 8-foot at Belhaven. That’s the best one I’ve had.”

 

Photo credit: Preston Haynes; Preston Haynes (right) with Itawamba Coach Woodiel

Photo credit: Preston Haynes; Preston gets the best of a speed rush guy at Southern Miss

Photo credit: Preston Haynes; Preston works a sled at a camp