Haynes King: The story just gets better and better

You’ve probably seen videos of choked-up young men phoning their parents to tell them they’ve been called up to the major leagues or they’ve made the roster of the NFL team that signed them as undrafted free agents.

If you are familiar with former Georgia Tech star quarterback Haynes King, you probably have an idea of how it went when he called his father Sunday night to confirm he had beaten the odds to make the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster after going undrafted.

Less thrill, more chill.

“Very short response,” John King told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “Not too excited. I’m sure he’s a little nervous, what he’s got to go do.

“He won’t lead on to it, but he doesn’t say much. Never has.”

Tech’s beloved Texan has not changed. Unflappable, not long on sentiment and forever surpassing expectations. The story just keeps getting better.

Not among the 257 prospects taken in the draft, King nevertheless earned a spot on the Carolina roster, even though he had been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the team’s Aug. 6 exhibition at the Hall of Fame Game.

“For about two weeks, I had a knot in my stomach not knowing what would happen with him being out and injured,” John King said. “Just hoping he’d get a chance to prove himself and show what he can do.”

As it turned out, what he showed up until his injury — particularly playing with poise in his lone exhibition game and winning it on a walk-off touchdown run — was enough for the Panthers to keep him as their third quarterback. John King said Panthers quarterbacks coach Will Harriger called the QB on Sunday night to inform him he’d made the team. That was followed by his measured phone call to his proud dad.

“Fired up for him,” John King said.

The improbable journey continues — a ball boy for his head coach dad at Longview (Texas) High, then the quarterback who led the Lobos to their first state championship in 81 years. A tumultuous three years at Texas A&M leading to his transfer to Tech, where he arrived in January 2023 promised nothing beyond a chance at the starting job.

And then, three seasons in which he earned folk-hero status for his toughness and refusal to let the Jackets lose, culminating in his being named the ACC player of the year this past season.

“Georgia Tech kind of helped revive his career,” John King said. “Being with (coach) Brent Key and (quarterbacks coach) Chris Weinke was a big part of that. Going to be forever grateful for those two men. But he was a good fit and it was the right time. So here we are.”

Although he was undrafted, no one at Tech was surprised he proved himself worthy of a spot in the NFL, nor in Longview, either.

“If he got a chance, he was going to prove himself,” John King said. “That’s what he’s always done.”

The next job is to stay.

“I’m sure he’ll do whatever they ask him to do,” the quarterback’s dad said. “The big deal was making the team and making it as a quarterback. If they ask him to run out there and punt or deep snap or hold or play receiver or run down on kickoff, he’ll do it.”

Jodie King, has been out to Charlotte, North Carolina, to help their son find a place to live. (This training camp, he actually stayed in a hotel, as opposed to sleeping in the locker room, like he did last year at Tech.)

He is third on the depth chart, behind starter Bryce Young and backup Kenny Pickett. It won’t be easy to get a chance to prove himself deserving of a bigger role.