A common denominator for Haynes King's career: The quarterback's connection to an FSU legend (Chris Weinke), a former FSU coach (Jimbo Fisher) and the current FSU coach (Mike Norvell). All of them have been intrigued by King.
Norvell was Memphis’ coach when he saw King’s skill set early at Longview (Texas) High, where he developed into a three-star quarterback and had 30 touchdowns (20 passing, 10 rushing) in his senior season in 2019.
“We did a satellite camp in East Texas, maybe going into his junior year,” Norvell said. “We offered him that night. I’ve known his dad since I got into coaching. John King is one of the great coaches in the state of Texas. So much respect for him. And a lot of respect for the young man.
"You see his growth throughout his career. I think he’ll be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
King signed with Fisher at Texas A&M but threw just 226 passes for 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in three seasons. While he battled injuries at Texas A&M, King battled for the starting job and won it multiple times as Fisher praised him for being a “throwback” football player.
But King jumped in the transfer portal after the 2022 season. The first name he heard from was a familiar one in Weinke, Georgia Tech’s quarterbacks coach.
“He was a big part of why I came here,” King said. “He was recruiting me out of high school when he was at Tennessee, and I almost ended up going there because I love the relationship that we had and the person that he was. And then when I got in the portal, he was the first one that hit me up, and he's the biggest reason why I came here.”
King put together the most impressive season of any GT quarterback, throwing for 2,842 yards, 27 touchdowns and 16 interceptions but also running for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns.
For perspective, no GT quarterback has had more combined touchdowns in program history (Joe Hamilton had 35 in 1999). And since 2000, only four ACC quarterbacks surpassed 2,800 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 700 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season — while Virginia Tech’s little-known Jerod Evans was one, the other two were Louisville's Lamar Jackson (twice) and Clemson's Deshaun Watson.
FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said GT's coaches have shown a willingness — or given King the green light — to run regardless of down and distance.
"Anytime you can run the ball, what does that create?" Fuller said. "Bad eyes, shots in the throw game. So it’s being consistent, making sure your eyes are in the right place. Making sure you’re dominating the front so that we can keep some guys playing the deep part of the field."
When he was jokingly told by the Osceola in July that King is far more mobile than the pocket-passer Weinke was in college, the GT quarterback quipped: “He can always throw that Heisman at us and big dog us. We never win those arguments.”
After a bizarre home loss to Bowling Green in late September, King and GT finished 5-3. Yes, there was the “failure to kneel” game at Miami but he also engineered a shootout victory over No. 17 UNC, picked up wins over Virginia and Syracuse and took No. 1 Georgia to the wire before losing 31-23. GT finished with a bowl win over UCF, not the most impressive 7-6 season on paper but one that fueled optimism for 2024.
King has a number of weapons on offense back, too. Among them are junior Malik Rutherford (46 catches, 714 yards, six TDs) and Eric Singleton (48 catches, 502 yards, four TDs). GT also averaged 221 rushing yards per game in 2023, returning a veteran offensive line and the mobile King. So GT could take a step forward in King’s second year.
“The guy came in and just had to learn a new offense one year ago and then became our starter and had to operate our offense at a high level,” Weinke said. “I tell these guys this every single day, ‘We are going to be aggressive.’ He is ultra competitive. Now he needs to understand when to take those shots and when not to take those shots.”
That’s a clear reference to King’s 16 interceptions from a year ago, but also a reminder that he was in year 1 at Georgia Tech. King returns most of his top targets and GT hit the portal on defense, creating momentum for a season ahead that begins with FSU on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland.
“They possess a lot of firepower and a group that’s going to be a great challenge for us to prepare for,” Norvell said.
Weinke didn’t dial anything back with a transfer quarterback in 2023. He expects even more this fall, given King will have a better feel for the nuances of the offense. Making better decisions and “don’t ever put us in a bad position,” Weinke said, are among them. King had four interceptions in a November loss at Clemson.
“He will be better this year than he was a year ago,” Weinke said. “But I don’t want to take away his aggressive attitude. I don’t want to take away his competitiveness.”
FSU’s defense will see that competitiveness in their Week 0 game. The Seminoles were the only FBS defense in 2023 to hold quarterbacks under 50 percent passing. But King is a dual threat and presents an exceptional challenge, coupled with the usual unpredictable nature of season openers.
“He is a football junkie,” Weinke said. “He is a kid that graduated from Texas A&M and transferred here, is taking graduate classes. Which allows him the opportunity to be able to do some internships. … It’s in his blood. He can’t get enough of it. And it’s hard to find those kids these days. He is old school. He loves the game. He can articulate it. He can speak about the game at a high level, which makes it a lot of fun for me.”
It's fun for King, too. He credits much of his learning to his time spent studying with Weinke.
“He's wired the right way, and he wants the best for us,” King said. “And that's why I'm here.”
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