Haynes King addresses if he should be considered one of the best QBs in ACC history

Georgia Tech‘s starting quarterback, Haynes King, might be the best Yellow Jackets quarterback since Reggie Ball in the early 2000s. However, you will be hard-pressed to hear him sing his own praises.

During the 2024 ACC Football Media Days, while sitting next to head coach Brent Key, King was praised for his 2023 campaign. Key’s adulation of King led to the Georgia Tech starting quarterback being asked if he repeated the success of last season, does he deserve to be considered as one of the best quarterbacks not only in program history but in the ACC in the past 24 years? But before King could give his answer, his head coach stepped in and interjected for him.

“Yes,” said Key. “He won’t say it’s about himself.”

After transferring into the program in the 2023 offseason from Texas A&M, King won the starting quarterback position for Georgia Tech over Zach Pyron. And all he did was help lead the Yellow Jackets to a 7-6 overall record while going 5-3 in the ACC. King did so by completing 61.6% of his 367 pass attempts for 2842 yards, accounting for 27 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing.

King himself would eventually address the question, making this statement.

“He knew that I was not going to say that,” said King. “I definitely wasn’t going to say that. That shows you what kind of people [and] players I have around me.”

“As Coach already said, yes.”

When it comes to the list of elite ACC quarterbacks in the past 24 years, there have been some really good to great collegiate careers put together. At Florida State, EJ Manuel and honorable mention Jordan Travis come in behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jameis Winston. At Louisville, a fellow by the name of Teddy Bridgewater put together an exceptional career as a Cardinal, not to mention their Heisman trophy-winning quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

Clemson has national championship-winning quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, plus the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, Tajh Boyd. NC State was home to Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson. Boston College is where Matt Ryan put together an impressive collegiate career that catapulted him to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. In Chapel Hill in North Carolina, home of the Tar Heels, Sam Howell, Mitchell Trubisky, and the No. 3 overall pick from this year’s draft, Drake Maye, all have similar claims, to name a few.

If King can put together another impressive performance as he did in 2023 in 2024, it won’t be just his head coach thrusting his name up there with the greats of the conference in recent history. And should he bring home the Heisman Trophy as Winston and Jackson did, he might be bold enough to make the claim himself following Georgia Tech’s 2024 campaign.