Haynes King Rated As the 6th Best Returning Quarterback In The ACC, Just Behind Cam Ward and DJ Uiagalelei
Georgia Tech is set to have one of the best offenses in the ACC in 2024 and a big reason why is the return of quarterback Haynes King.
King was one of only two players in the nation with at least 2,700 passing yards, 600 rushing yards, 25 touchdown passes, and five touchdown runs this season (joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels), and one of only six ACC players to achieve those numbers in a regular season since 2000. He led the ACC in touchdown passes and was fourth in passing yards.
PFF has King rated as the sixth-highest graded returning quarterback in the ACC.
Highest Graded Returning ACC Quarterbacks🎯 pic.twitter.com/S8YCRiTOG1
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 15, 2024
A couple of notes here.
No. 1, Poffenbarger played at the FCS level and is not projected to be the starting quarterback for the Hurricanes this year. No. 2, while I think Preston Stone is a good quarterback, he played easier competition last season than what he is going to face this year in the ACC. Cal's Chandler Rogers, Florida State's DJ Uiagalelei, and Miami's Cam Ward (their actual starter) are the other quarterbacks rated ahead of King. I think you can make the argument that King is too low here.
I have no doubt that King could end up being the best quarterback in the conference this season.
When talking about the biggest takeaways for the ACC from the opening days of the transfer portal being open a couple of months ago, ESPN analyst David Hale (who does a great job of covering the ACC) suggested that Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King might be the biggest name returning at the position for the conference next season:
"The ACC's QB pecking order is going to look a lot different in 2024. Not only is the league losing Jordan Travis and, almost certainly, Drake Maye -- the top two QBs in 2023 -- but with the departure of Riley Leonard and Tyler Van Dyke, the biggest name returning for next year might be Georgia Tech's Haynes King. UNC already made its move to replace Maye, adding former Texas A&M and LSU starter Max Johnson.
Florida State and Louisville would be inviting landing spots for a QB, though both programs also have younger players they'd like to see develop. NC State, too, showed flashes of its offensive potential in the latter stages of the season, and after the departure of MJ Morris, the Wolfpack will be in the market, too. Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Boston College and Clemson figure to be the only schools who aren't in search of a new starter, and they might even be in the market for another veteran to provide insurance for their younger QBs."
Now, that was before FSU got Uiagalelei and Miami got Ward to turn down the NFL and come play for them, but I think King, Ward, and Uiagalelei are the clear top three quarterbacks in the ACC going into the 2024 season. There are going to be high expectations on King for this upcoming season.
He is going to have a deep set of playmakers to work with, as well as one of the best offensive lines in the ACC. Georgia Tech made one of the biggest jumps in offensive production last season and they might have another leap in them in 2024. Haynes King is going to lead the charge for that.
JACKSON CAUDELL
Jackson Caudell covers Georgia Tech Athletics and the Atlanta Hawks for FanNation