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Haynes King the best QB in the ACC? Georgia Tech’s Brent Key likes his man
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Haynes King authored a historic season in 2023 — his first as the Yellow Jackets’ quarterback — as he led Georgia Tech to its best season since 2018. And, at the ACC’s annual media conference on Monday, GT coach Brent Key called King the best quarterback in the conference entering the new year.
“He’s the best quarterback in the ACC, guys,” Key said. “And I won’t be surprised if he’s on every (postseason honor) list at the end of the season. Would not be surprised. … That kid’s special.”
As a Nick Saban disciple and a former offensive line coach, big, brash statements aren’t typically in Key’s wheelhouse. But there’s an obvious level of excitement around the Jackets’ offense entering Year 2.
Co-offensive coordinators Chris Weinke and Buster Faulkner return. King’s top 3 pass-catchers from a season ago — Eric Singleton Jr., Malik Rutherford, and Christian Leary — all return. Tailback Jamal Haynes is back after a 1,059-yard season. Five of the 7 offensive linemen who played more than 300 snaps last year return.
“I’m excited,” said King. “We’ve been talking about this since the bowl game in December. I’ve been ready for a long time, ready to get back at it. Tired of just doing workouts, lifting, running. I’m ready to put the pads on and get right to it.
“Building off that, building off last season is a big step. Now our expectation and standard has risen. It’s not going to be the same. People always say you either get better or you’re getting worse, you can’t stay the same.”
King began his career at Texas A&M, a sought-after recruit from Longview, Texas, who signed with the Aggies in the 2020 class. He started the first 2 games of the Aggies’ 2021 season as a redshirt freshman before sustaining a season-ending injury. He played in 6 games in 2022 before transferring to Tech.
Last fall, King became just the fourth ACC player this century with 2,800 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, 700 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans, and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson were the only others to do what King did last season — a pretty wonderful group to belong to.
King was asked on Monday if his name belongs in the conversation for the best quarterback in the ACC over the last 2 decades and his coach cut in.
“Yes,” Key said. “He won’t say it about himself.”
Added King: “I definitely wasn’t going to say that. That shows you what kind of people, players I have around me. As Coach already said, yes.”
To a degree, it’s talking season and Georgia Tech has plenty to gain by drumming up excitement for Year 2 of the Key era. Watson won a national championship. Jackson won a Heisman Trophy. King’s top accomplishment to date is a come-from-behind win over UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl.
What Georgia Tech does in 2024 will be important. But the Jackets are also a reasonably dangerous team this season. Nine of the 11 FBS teams they faced in the regular season last fall made a bowl game. And from a point differential standpoint, Tech was what its record indicated it was.
The offense closed the season top 50 in SP+. It was top-30 in efficiency, top-10 in rushing efficiency, and averaged more than 30 points a game for the first time since 2018. (The Jackets improved their scoring by nearly 14 points year-over-year.)
Kyle McCord and DJ Uiagalelei are the only projected starters across the ACC who posted a better QBR than King did last season.
Uiagalelei’s new coach at Florida State would also agree with Key’s assessment of his quarterback.
“A lot of respect for the young man,” Mike Norvell said Monday, per the AJC’s Chad Bishop. “You’ve seen his growth throughout his career. I think he’ll be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
The markets view Georgia Tech as a deep sleeper to win the ACC in 2024. At DraftKings, the Yellow Jackets are priced at +7500 to lift the league trophy and +2200 to even make the title game.
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CLAIM OFFERKing takes any sleeper talk as a bit of disrespect.
“We’re supposed to be contending for that ACC championship each and every year with the people we have in the building, coaches, players, team, the culture that we’ve built,” he said.
The Yellow Jackets haven’t played for an ACC title since 2014, and they haven’t won the game since 2009. But you get the sense this team is brimming with confidence. Haynes put it succinctly: “New season, new goals, new expectations.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
