Georgia Tech’s upset victory against North Carolina on Saturday night had quarterback Haynes King’s fingerprints all over it.
He had success with deep passes, such as when he nailed a pass to Eric Singleton Jr. for a 43-yard gain in the second quarter. He was creative on quarterback keepers, faking handoffs and easily evading North Carolina’s defense. He had Bobby Dodd Stadium’s public-address announcer roaring “Haynes King” after he carried the ball 52 yards down field in the fourth quarter.
It was the game of his short Yellow Jackets’ career, King having transferred in from Texas A&M in the offseason. The Haynes King who played Saturday has “completely changed” from the Haynes King of 10 months ago, Tech coach Brent Key said.
“His growth comes from continued confidence and success, but also his growth comes from mistakes,” Key said. “He is one of the rare kinds that can have success or have failure and learn from both of them.”
Saturday’s game, by many measures, was a success for King. He went 23-for-30 passing while throwing four touchdown passes and rushing for 90 yards. King’s immediate grade for himself after the game: a B-plus, which he said was because of his seven incompletions and one pick.
Key said that when King arrived in Atlanta, his game was in a place where some feel you can’t improve on fundamentals or technical skills. Yet Key said he’s still managed to improve.
Wide receiver Malik Rutherford said he’s witnessed King’s growth, too.
“He’s gotten more confidence as the season’s gone on,” Rutherford said. “Almost every game, he’s playing at a high level right now.”
King said his biggest areas of growth have been being more comfortable in a leadership role and greater accuracy on the field. As a leader, King said he’s tried to be more vocal with his teammates and explain the how’s and why’s of the game.
“Everybody needs to know why you mess up or why you do the good things,” King said. “If you don’t know why, how are you going to do them again?”
It’s a mentality that might come from his background as a coach’s son. Key called him a “coach on the field,” which he said comes from King’s father, John King, a longtime Texas high school football coach.
King said his dedication to preparation and having a strong “will to win” are skills he gained from being around the game as a child. Preparation means you’ll be able to play “fast, physical, smart” when game time comes, King said.
King earned several accolades for Saturday’s performance, including the ACC Player of the Week and the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week. Being honored feels good, King said, but he’s moved on to focusing on Saturday’s opponent, Virginia.
But King had one big takeaway from the North Carolina contest: Just how well can the Jackets play?
“We can be really good,” King said. “Now we have to move forward and learn how to be consistently good – not just good, but consistently good, consistently execute. That’s what the main focus of this week is.”
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