‘One of the great ones to ever play here’: Haynes King set for home finale
Bobby Dodd Stadium is not the house that Haynes King built. But man, if he didn’t help give it a face-lift.
Georgia Tech’s star quarterback will play his last game at Tech’s home venue at 7 p.m. Saturday when the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1 ACC) face Pittsburgh (7-3, 5-1 ACC). He’ll do so in what is expected to be a sold-out crowd of fans yearning to witness his finale.
“I’m more focused on Pittsburgh right now. Probably after the season, you know?” King said, somewhat predictably, about how much thought he has given to Saturday being his own personal home finale. “Right now, I’m just kind of focused on doing my job and doing the best I can and communicating and executing at a high level. I haven’t necessarily thought about it or sat down and just looked back at everything. Trying to enjoy and be present in the moment.”
King transferred to Tech ahead of the 2023 season, and his debut in white and gold actually came down the road at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In a full-circle moment, that’s where his final regular-season game will be played Nov. 28 when No. 16 Tech plays No. 4 Georgia. His Bobby Dodd Stadium debut was against South Carolina State on Sept. 9, 2023, and he dazzled by throwing for 290 yards and four touchdowns.
The rest of King’s 2023 season in Atlanta wasn’t as remarkable.
Tech went 2-3 over the next five home games, a stretch that included a 38-27 loss to Bowling Green and a 38-23 loss to Boston College. In the latter, King threw three interceptions.
Over the next two seasons, however, Tech hasn’t lost at Bobby Dodd Stadium, bringing Tech’s overall record to 12-3 in games King has played there.
“Oh, it’s night and day,” King said of his play in 2023 compared to his play in 2025. “Coming from A&M, it’s not even just mechanically, but mentally and the way that you lead and push people and stuff like that. It’s night and day of how I’ve improved as a player and also as a person.”
A 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Longview, Texas, and a Texas A&M graduate, King’s career numbers, and his play this season, have made him a bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate. He leads the nation in total offense (340.7 yards per game), is fifth in completion percentage (72.7) and 11th in points responsible for per game (16.2).
On the ground, King is fourth nationally with 14 touchdowns.
His career numbers inside Bobby Dodd Stadium have been just as impressive. He’s thrown for 3,070 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 71.9% of his throws. Eight times King has been picked off at home, but seven of those interceptions were in 2023, and he has now gone 172 straight pass attempts at home without a pick.
King has 815 rushing yards at 5.29 yards per carry in his home venue and has scored 13 times.
“The command he has of the team on the field, he’s special, and it’s hard to put it into words. Turn the tape on. But to know Haynes as an individual is probably what’s even cooler,” Tech coach Brent Key said Monday. “The times we have sit-downs, we meet and we talk and just share so many different things.
“The legacy that he leaves here, hopefully, will be continued with other players on the team. I got a feeling that if it’s not, he’ll be back here in a minute and make sure that it’s done the right way once he’s gone. I’m just excited for him, excited for his family, excited for all the seniors. It’ll be a special moment on Saturday night.”
King and Tech’s other seniors will be honored about 30 minutes before kickoff Saturday. King’s mother and father are expected to be on the field with him for the senior day ceremony.
Then King and the Jackets will try to go out and clinch a berth in the ACC championship game with a win over Pitt.
“I was here (as a player) when some of the great ones had their final games, and he is one of the great ones to ever play here, one of the best players in the country this year,” Key said Monday on SiriusXM radio. “I can’t wait to see him go out and play in his last game in Bobby Dodd on Saturday night.”
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