Georgia Tech’s attack led by 3-headed monster of King, Hosley and Haynes

If there was any thought that Georgia Tech’s offense in 2025 would deviate from its tried-and-true recipe for past success, that notion should be squarely put to bed at this point.

Once again, the Yellow Jackets have cemented themselves as one of the top rushing teams in the country. No. 7-ranked Tech goes into the weekend having run for 228.43 yards per game — the 12th best average nationally and second-best clip among ACC teams (only Florida State is better).

The Jackets also are averaging 5.9 yards per rush, the fifth-best mark nationally.

“The guys up front, they do a heckuva job of just getting it started, giving us a chance — the backs, the receivers, the quarterbacks just being able to run it,” Tech quarterback Haynes King said. “Just getting it started and covering people up and allowing us to do what we do best.”

Tech finished the 2024 season ranked 32nd nationally (second in the ACC) in rushing offense. It ended the ’23 campaign 12th in the country and as the ACC’s best rushing attack.

So it should have come as no surprise that by the end of this October the Jackets are one of college football’s top running teams, even if the preseason narrative was that Tech had strengthened its wide receiver corps and had a three-year starter at quarterback capable of making hay in the passing game.

Instead, Tech (7-0, 4-0 ACC) has remained steadfast and stubborn in its commitment to piling up the rushing yards. And over the course of 60 minutes each Saturday, that commitment appears to drain the opposing defense.

“Sometimes I guess you’d say you do kind of sense that,” King said. “We’ve had a couple games where we’ve broke open late for a couple long runs and stuff like that, and I guess you could say that’s a testament of wearing the other team down.”

King leads the Jackets in both rushing yards (506) and rushing touchdowns (10). The senior from Texas is the fourth FBS quarterback since 2015 with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in three consecutive seasons, and the first ACC quarterback to do it since Lamar Jackson at Louisville from 2015-17.

King’s ability to run the ball effectively doesn’t catch defenses off-guard, yet it continues to be an unstoppable facet of Tech’s attack. King’s 120 yards at Duke marked his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and seventh of his Tech career.

But the Jackets aren’t just all King all the time. Veteran running back Jamal Haynes and newcomer Malachi Hosley each have more than 400 yards rushing as well, making Tech the only team in the country with three 400-yard rushers.

Hosley, a Columbus native and transfer from Pennsylvania, is averaging 7.54 yards per carry and has scored six times, becoming arguably one of the, if not the, biggest offseason acquisitions for coordinator Buster Faulkner’s offense.

Haynes, meanwhile, is probably not having the statistical output he envisioned at season’s outset. The senior and Grayson High School graduate is tied for ninth on Tech’s all-time rushing list with 2,412 career yards, and needs 223 more to move into eighth, but has managed only 119 yards on 32 carries over the past three contests.

“We’ve actually talked about it a little bit,” King said of Haynes’ struggles in production on the ground. “We’ve talked about it, and he even told me, ‘Yeah, I just gotta keep grinding and doing my job and pressing the right gap and if I do that, sooner or later it will break. I can’t press and try to make a big play and stuff like that.’ I was like, ‘That’s perfect.’

“So I feel like his head’s in the right space, and he’s doing what’s best for the team. Sometimes you gotta cram it and get those harder 3- to 4- to 5-yard runs instead of just trying to make a big play and losing 2. He’s done a really good job of doing that this season and like he said, sooner or later he will be able to break and the party gets started.”

Tech has scored 21 of its 29 touchdowns this season on the ground. It has six rushing plays that have gained at least 40 yards and nine that have gone for at least 30. Tech also has a pair of 300-yard rushing games this season and is 2-0 in those games (and 5-0 all-time under Brent Key when reaching that benchmark).

The only opponent to hold Tech to less than 150 yards rushing this season was Clemson (147), and the Jackets still won 24-21.