Another reason for palpable excitement and raised expectations for an already strong Georgia Tech offense this season, along with the return of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and a multitude of starters at every position, is quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke still wearing white and gold.
A Heisman Trophy winner, Weinke has been instrumental in the development of Tech’s offense and quarterbacks since arriving in Atlanta in 2022 to assist former coach Geoff Collins and now to work alongside coach Brent Key. Weinke’s efforts with Tech’s offense even earned him a raise and extension this offseason.
Starting quarterback Haynes King has seen his game blossom under the direction of Weinke, a coach who tried to get King to play for Tennessee when Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the Volunteers at the end of the past decade. The junior QB joked that his offseason included being an intern under Weinke’s leadership.
“The main thing is consistency,” King said about what has been one of the more important lessons Weinke teaches. “Being consistent and being able to sustain that each and every day when things get hard, tough, everybody’s tired. That comes with your energy level each and every day, how consistent you are with that. If you have a consistent routine, everything else is gonna take care of itself, everything is gonna start falling into place, everything is gonna be more consistent.”
King’s breakout season wasn’t the only feather in Weinke’s cap in 2023.
Backup quarterback Zach Pyron, who threw for 565 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 127 yards and two scores in 2022, returned for the 2024 season as well. He credited a strong relationship with Weinke and Key as reasons he came back despite limited reps during the ‘23 season.
Tech also brought in two promising freshmen quarterbacks in Aaron Philo (Prince Avenue Christian School) and Graham Knowles (Southlake, Texas). Weinke and Tech now undoubtedly have the strongest quarterback group they have had in recent memory.
“I think first and foremost, the luxury of having some veteran quarterbacks, guys that have been in our system, makes life a little bit easier in terms of what we can do offensively. The fortunate part for me is, the two young guys have fallen right in behind those guys. They’re wired the right way,” Weinke said. “(King) and (Pyron) obviously set the expectation in the room, and the two young guys are following them.
“When you have two veteran guys that go about their business the right way, it’s easy for those younger guys to see what they do. When you look at across the board offensively, starting with our quarterback, it allows you to be creative. It allows you to be exotic. It allows you to attack people in a lot of different ways because the foundation of the offense is now understood by everybody. And the trigger man is obviously running the show.”
Weinke, who also holds the role of assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator, said he certainly has given a little extra thought to Tech’s opener Aug. 24 against Florida State, his alma mater. Weinke starred at QB for the Seminoles and led them to a national title in 1999 before winning the Heisman Trophy in 2000.
For now, though, his work continues to be getting his quarterbacks, and Tech’s offense, to put their best foot forward against one of the nation’s elite teams.
“As we continue to get closer and start honing in and game-planning for those guys and locking in on them, I think the juices will be flowing,” Weinke said of the FSU matchup. “The most important thing is it’s an exciting opportunity for our kids. You’re playing against a team that had a lot of success last year. Our focus right now is to be the best that we can be each and every day, and when our mindset changes to start to focus on them, I think it’ll get ramped up around here.”
Franklin on Outland Trophy watch list
Tech senior center Weston Franklin is one of 75 players on the official watch list for the Outland Trophy, the Football Writers Association of America announced Tuesday. The Outland Trophy honors college football’s top interior lineman.
Franklin has started 25 consecutive games at center for the Yellow Jackets over the past two seasons and played 884 offensive snaps in 2023. He was the anchor of an offensive front that helped pave the way for Tech to lead the ACC and rank among the top 15 teams nationally in rushing offense and fewest sacks allowed in 2023.
Franklin is one of only 14 centers on the 75-player Outland Trophy watch list.
