Haynes King reflects on his time at Texas A&M and shares his reaction when learning he would be the starter at Georgia Tech

Haynes King was named the starting quarterback for Georgia Tech yesterday

Jackson Caudell | Aug 23, 2023

Haynes King reflects on his time at Texas A&M and shares his reaction when learning he would be the starter at Georgia Tech /

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Georgia Tech has a new starting quarterback.

Yesterday, head coach Brent Key named Texas A&M transfer Haynes King as the starting quarterback of the team. The battle had been going on since King arrived from College Station in the offseason and he edged out Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson. Key explained what went into the decision yesterday:

"I met with both quarterbacks yesterday, I met with Zach (Pyron) and Haynes (King), I met with them myself and informed them of the decision that I made as far as who the starting quarterback will be and Haynes King is going to be the starting quarterback moving into the first game vs Louisville. It is time to turn the page with that and get the team focused and prepped for Louisville. I had a chance to meet with both of those guys yesterday, with no one else, it wasn't a staff, it was myself and individual player only and talked with them in depth about where they are at, where they stand, and what they need to continue to work on and informed them of my decision and that I would be telling you guys today, that way we can move on as a full team and get ready to start playing games. I had a meeting this morning with leadership and told the leadership, yes, both Haynes and Zach were both in there, and I informed them and made sure that they understood why and why we are now moving forward.

It was a good meeting. Both quarterbacks had outstanding camps, this evaluation has been going on since January 6th. To have three quarterbacks that have started college football games on your team is a super positive to have and there are going to be points in time this year where those quarterbacks will all play but moving forward for now, Haynes King is the starter and we are moving on now."

King spoke to the media today for the first time since being named the starting quarterback and King talked about how happy he was that he won the competition:

"I had a big smile on my face. I mean I was excited, it was a tough battle. Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson, we are brothers now and we are apart of this Georgia Tech family and I could not have done it without them. Without competition, you get complacent and they pushed me to the max and to the limit and at the end of the day, I came out on top and I just had a big smile on my face.

Not necessarily relieved because I knew that I was going to trust in God and trust in the coaches and they went with me and I just had a big smile on my face and I was happy and ready to go play."

This is not the first time that King has been named a starter in his college career. King won the job at Texas A&M in 2021 and 2022, but injuries cut his season short in 2021 and he lost the job in 2022. King spoke about his time at A&M and shared some lessons he learned when going through that process:

"That year I actually learned a lot. Growing up, I did not go through a lot of adversity, it might be some small things but, it hurts when the whole thing turns on you, but you learn from a lot. One person told me that when stuff goes wrong, you can't let it bother you and at the end of the day, the sun is going to rise, birds are still going to be chirping, and your family still loves you and they are going to support you and you are going to keep on moving.

At the end of the day, you know who is in your tight-knit circle and as long as they still care for you and love you, you are going to be fine, but you have to keep moving forward."

Haynes King won the starting quarterback job at Georgia Tech / John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, King played 327 snaps according to PFF (Pro Football Focus), and finished with a grade of 53.4, a 48.6 passing grade, and a 71.6 rushing grade. He is an athletic player with a strong arm and it is a fair question to wonder if Texas A&M's offense was holding King back the last couple of seasons.

King is a former four-star recruit for the Aggies and won the starting job twice. His 2021 season was cut short after being injured early in the season. He started this season off as the starter but was benched after Texas A&M was upset by App State. He did return as the starter and had his best game on the road against Alabama, a game in which he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns.

King's strengths are his mobility and his arm strength and I anticipate more passing in Faulkner's offense.

Georgia Tech kicks off its season next Friday against Louisville at 7:30 on ESPN.

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