Haynes King Picked As A Second Year Transfer Quarterback Who Could Take A Major Leap

Could King be even better in 2024 than he was last season?

Nov 25, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) throws a pass against the Georgia Bulldogs in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech's Haynes King was one of the most productive quarterbacks in the ACC last season and he has a chance to be even better in 2024. King was in a quarterback battle at this time last year, but he is the unquestioned starter for Georgia Tech this year and hopes to lead them to even bigger things.

Last year, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels took one of the biggest leaps as a second-year transfer quarterback. Daniels went from being a solid starter to the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft. While leaps like that are not exactly common, is there a second-year transfer quarterback who could make one that is similar? On3 Sports Andy Staples was asked this question in a recent article and he mentioned King as a second-year transfer quarterback who could take a leap this year:

"King was a top-10 quarterback recruit in the class of 2020, but that didn’t show during his time at Texas A&M. Former Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher’s insistence on a robotic style robbed King of his natural athleticism. Working with quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke and coordinator Buster Faulkner at Georgia Tech allowed King to reclaim his natural wiggle, and that made a huge difference. King ran for 737 yards (with a 6.1 average) and 10 touchdowns, so assuming similar rushing production, King doesn’t have to post absurd passing numbers to terrify defenses. But like Sanders, there is room to improve from a 7.7 yards per attempt average, and King needs to cut his interceptions (16 last year) by at least half."

I do think if King could cut down on the turnovers, this offense could be even better than it was last year. The Yellow Jackets also have the weapons on offense to be more explosive than they were a year ago.

King accounted for 3,729 yards of total offense (2,842 passing, 737 rushing) and 37 touchdowns (27 passing, 10 rushing) in his first season as the Yellow Jackets’ starting quarterback in 2023. He was one of only two Power Five conference players with at least 2,800 passing yards, 700 rushing yards, 25 touchdown passes and 10 touchdown runs in 2023, joining Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Jayden Daniels of LSU, while he became only the fourth Atlantic Coast Conference player since 2000 to reach those plateaus in a single season, joining Clemson’s Deshawn Watson (2015), Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (2016 and 2017) and Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans (2016).