Haynes King solidifying why he’s one of the ACC’s best gunslingers

BOULDER, Colo. — After putting the Yellow Jackets on his back, and carrying them to the finish line in a hostile road environment, there’s no denying that the senior quarterback is an elite player.

Haynes King never let the 52,868 fans at Folsom Field rattle him, even after a scoreless first quarter, and a turnover on each of Georgia Tech’s first three drives against Colorado. His mental toughness through early adversity, and dangerous dual threat capability helped the Yellow Jackets down the Buffaloes 27-20.

Although King moved the chains for the offense when it mattered the most, his body often paid the price for it. He was physical, and absorbed some huge hits, but never panicked, or showed any weakness. Instead King took full command of the huddle, made others around him better and executed several plays in the clutch.

Colorado’s defense had no answer for King’s mobility, which was a reason why he finished the game with 156 yards on the ground. Not to mention King rushed for three touchdowns, including two in the second half. King’s go-ahead, 45-yard touchdown run in the final 60 seconds of the game sealed the victory too.

The signal-caller wasn’t afraid to use his body as a battering ram either. After all, the big boys up front mauled the Colorado defenders at the point of attack, allowed only one sack and opened up holes for King in the second half, which Coach Brent Key admired.

“I thought they played very physical, especially in the run game, and they were wanting to lean on those guys and impose their will, and that’s what we talked about,” Key said. “Body blows are going to add up and they’re going to accumulate.”

The rain was a factor in the Yellow Jackets’ aerial attack, but King still completed 13 of his 20 passes for 143 yards and an interception. He spread the ball around too, and four different Yellow Jackets caught at least one pass. That’s because King made it a priority to get everyone involved, and capitalized on adjustments.

“If the run game is working, you open up, you get numbers and leverage on the pass game,” King said. “Everything kind of works together, and that’s just who we are as an offense.”

The Yellow Jackets finished the game with 463 yards of total offense. On top of that, Georgia Tech led Colorado in plays, first downs, third down efficiency, yards per play and time of possession. King even helped the Yellow Jackets score a touchdown on all three of their possessions in the red zone.

King outdueled the Buffaloes’ Kaidon Salter, and displayed a heart of a champion. The offense put together a memorable performance late in the fourth quarter, and King expected the contest to go down to the wire like it did.

“We knew that we were going to have a challenge: the way that they played, the way that they prepared, the way they were coached,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a four quarter game.”

Coming out on top means King will be riding a big wave of momentum heading into game two, and the rest of the ACC is definitely taking notice. This win should set the tone for the rest of the season. However, Georgia Tech can’t afford to overlook an inferior Gardner-Webb team, and needs to iron out all of the wrinkles in week two to get ready for Clemson in week three.

Regardless, King is confident that winning in ugly fashion will prepare the Yellow Jackets mentally for the challenging journey down the stretch. Georgia Tech is no longer flying under the radar because of the early, but King believes the best is yet to come as long as his teammates stay hungry.

“We’ve already been through a lot as a team, and, you know, we preach stuff like this, not even teach it, not even talk about it, we preach stuff like this.”