In first start, Philo recovers from rough beginning to lead Georgia Tech to victory
Just ahead of kickoff Saturday, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key made the decision to start Aaron Philo at quarterback. Veteran Haynes King had been trying to work through a nagging lower body injury over the course of the week of practice.
“(King) practiced the whole week, so it was just gonna be a game-time decision,” Philo said. “Really, I just had to be ready if my number was called. Earlier today, found out my number was called. It was just prepping the whole week like I was gonna be the starter without knowing if I was gonna be. It was good.”
Philo came through for the Yellow Jackets (2-0). But not immediately.
The redshirt freshman from Bogart lost a fumble on Tech’s second play from scrimmage in an eventual 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb. On Tech’s eighth offensive snap of the afternoon, Philo was picked off. Two drives, two turnovers.
Disappointingly similar to Tech’s three-turnovers-in-three-drives start at Colorado on Aug. 29.
“(Philo) come off the field after the second turnover, when he threw the interception, I said, ‘Hey, man. Congratulations. You got ‘em out of you now,’” Key said. “I said, ‘Shake it off, don’t think about it, you gotta play the next play.’ And then he throws the touchdown to Isiah (Canion) on the next drive the offense was out there, and he came over there and said, ‘That’s the way I can play football.’ I said, ‘Yeah, exactly. You just gotta go do it.’”
Philo, like King and Tech in the previous game, took a deep breath and settled in from there.
Tech’s next four drives resulted in touchdowns, the first of which included Philo’s 11-yard touchdown to Canion to give the Yellow Jackets the lead for good. Philo finished his first quarter 4-of-6 passing for 54 yards.
As the evening progressed, Philo became more and more comfortable, spreading the ball around to 10 receivers by night’s end. He also completed 10 passes that went for at least 16 yards and six that went for at least 24 yards.
Philo finished his day 21-of-29 passing for 373 yards — only four Tech quarterbacks have ever thrown for more in a single game in program history. Philo had a passer rating of 191.5.
“Knowing where you have the depth where you have a bunch of people that can play, that’s awesome that we have that many guys that can play,” Philo said of his day, crediting his receivers. “And it was good to be able to spread the ball out and have some big explosive plays.”
As for King, Saturday marked the third time in the past seven Tech games that the senior from Texas has been sidelined with injury. King had a shoulder issue in 2024 that forced him to miss Tech losses against Notre Dame and at Virginia Tech.
Last week in the win at Colorado, King was 13-of-20 passing for 143 yards and an interception to go with 156 yards rushing and three rushing scores. He ran 19 times in the victory over the Buffaloes.
“It was a decision that was really right up until game time. (King) went out for pregame warmups. He’s got a little, nagging lower body injury. I put 100% trust in our medical staff and our doctors and our training staff,” Key said of King’s availability. “As much as you want somebody to play, they’re gonna do what’s best for ‘em and not have one week turn into four or five or six. They made the right decision, and I’m gonna support the doctors and back them up at any point in time.”
About the Author
