Ole Miss defensive end Marquis Haynes revealed why he changed his number from No. 27 to No. 10 this fall. Though he is taking over the number worn by departed teammate C.J. Johnson, whom he called his “role model,” Haynes made the switch primarily as a motivational alternation, according to an interview with The Oxford Eagle.

“This No. 10, it’s got a main meaning to me,” Haynes said. “I ended with 10 sacks, and I was trying to get past that. So I’m wearing 10 just to let me know and remind myself every day when I wear this number I’m trying to get past 10 to break the (recent) sack record for the season.”

Haynes’ 10 sacks ranked No. 19 nationally and tied Phillip Kent, Dewayne Dotson and Greg Hardy as the most by an Ole Miss player since 1990. But he hopes to be closer to the Ben Williams’ single-season record 18 sacks set in 1973.

Haynes has recorded 17.5 sacks during his first two seasons, which trails Hardy’s school record of 26.5.

You can read more on Haynes’ number change and offseason here.

Jason Hall

Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.