ESPN ranks Haynes King as one of College Football's top Transfer Quarterbacks

King currently leads the ACC in passing yards and touchdowns

Going into the 2023 season, Georgia Tech was having one of the more under-the-radar quarterback battles in the entire country. The Yellow Jackets brought in Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King to compete with Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson and in a bit of a surprise, Head Coach Brent Key named King the starter for the first game against Louisville and King has not looked back since. 

King currently leads the ACC in passing yards with 1, 631 and he leads in passing touchdowns with 16 while being fifth in passer rating. The passing game has arguably been the best part of the team and King has been leading the attack.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Tom Vanhaaren ranked every transfer quarterback and King received an A- from them and ranked only behind Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Texas State's TJ Finley, and Notre Dame's Sam Hartman. 

Here is what was said about King and his ranking: 

"King, a former top-50 recruit who opened the past two seasons as Texas A&M's starter, has been productive in his first season with Georgia Tech. He has four games of 290 passing yards or more, and three of 42 rushing yards or more. King has had multiple touchdown passes in five games, and his 16 TD passes are tied for third nationally. He has been a solid contributor on the ground, especially with 53 yards on only six carries in a road win against Wake Forest, and ranks No. 16 nationally in total offense. Entering Week 6, King and LSU's Jayden Daniels were the only FBS quarterbacks with at least 1,400 passing yards, 150 rushing yards and 15 touchdown passes."

ESPN ranked Haynes King as one of the nation's top transfer quarterbacks / Nathaniel Caudell

Georgia Tech is third in the ACC in passing yards per game, averaging 275. King has been a fantastic leader for this team and led the team down the field in 26 seconds last weekend to stun Miami. 

Going into the season, there were some who thought King might even be a downgrade from former starting quarterback Jeff Sims and that has been far from the case.

In the offseason, 247Sports analyst Clint Brewster wrote about teams that are replacing their starter with a transfer quarterback this season and if the team is better off or worse with the new starter.

Here is what he had to say about Georgia Tech going from King to Sims:

"Georgia Tech brought in King, the former Texas A&M transfer signal-caller, with new head coach Brent Key now at the helm. Last year, the Yellow Jackets started Sims at quarterback. He, at times, showed remarkable talent and upside but couldn't quite put it all together. King was a highly recruited quarterback out of Texas. He ran a verified 4.5-second 40-yard dash.

King struggled as a passer at Texas A&M, and many wondered if he would fit better in a different offense. Texas A&M ended up with two different starters by the end of the season and King decided to leave.

Sims didn't light the world on fire at Georgia Tech and also struggled at times to consistently make throws. Although it was just a spring game, Sims looked outstanding for Nebraska in that game and could have his best year yet."

Verdict: Georgia Tech got worse

Nobody who makes predictions will ever be right all the time, but I think Georgia Tech is more than happy with how King has played this season and how he can continue to improve.

Georgia Tech is off this week, but returns to action against Boston College at home in Atlanta on October 21st on ACC Network (12:00 p.m.)

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