The Heisman conversation usually follows a predictable script: big stats, highlight plays, national attention, rinse and repeat. For Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets QB1 Haynes King, that script got flipped after the GT’s turbo mode 24–21 upset of Clemson last Saturday. The sixth-year senior, who’s endured his share of injuries and setbacks, suddenly found himself plastered across the ACC headlines. For the first time in a long time, folks were asking a very serious question: could this be Georgia Tech’s ticket back into the spotlight? He shares something similar to what a current Florida QB1 phenom brings that has got pundits excited, and it’s not natural talent.
Perception’s reality. Georgia Tech has an edge, like they’re a little different in mentality and how they attack things and the things that they do. With regard to that, ESPN’s Cole Cubelic entered the picture. Joining Josh Pate’s CFB Show, Cubelic gave his honest assessment. “I don’t think Haynes King could start in the UFL. And I’m dead serious when I say that,” Cubelic said flatly. But he wasn’t just there to pour cold water on the hype.
The point, according to him, is that football is bigger than raw talent. “But I know this: every player on that team would take a bullet for him tomorrow. Yep. I have zero doubt in my mind about that. If they said, ‘Hey man, Haynes can’t play unless you cut your pinky off.’ They’d be lining up to cut their pinkies off before the game.” Breaking down why Haynes King has galvanized this roster. It’s not about highlight-reel throws or draft projections—it’s about the bruises, the grit, and the example he sets.
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“He’s trucking people, and he’s got a bruised shoulder and his knee probably doesn’t work and his back’s aching,” Cubelic said. “Like, guys, we got to get it going here a little bit.” It’s the kind of leadership that doesn’t show up in box scores but has ripple effects. Players look at their QB taking 15 or 20 hits a game, and suddenly, their own excuses disappear. “He raises the level of play of all his teammates when he’s on the field,” Cubelic added, comparing King’s impact to what was once said about DJ Lagway.
And if you ask Haynes King himself, he’s not letting the Heisman hype get in his head. “They don’t give the Heisman or personal trophies to losers. As long as the team keeps winning, things will handle itself,” he said this week, a quote that tells you everything you need to know about how he carries himself. Against Clemson, he was sharp through the air—20 of 28 for 211 yards—and downright dangerous on the ground with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown. In his final year of eligibility, the urgency is clear. Every snap looks like it carries the weight of unfinished business.
Head coach Brent Key has seen it firsthand. “This kid’s been on a mission every time he’s gone out,” Key said. “Any time you’re a starting quarterback and it’s your last go-around in college, there’s something else behind you, something motivating from a higher being.” Now in his fourth year at the helm, Key has hitched his program’s momentum to King’s toughness and resolve. To him, the award chatter isn’t crazy at all.
“The definition of what the Heisman is… I don’t know about the exact wording, but talk about the value to your team and doing it with integrity in ways others don’t,” Key said. “I mean, who else fits that definition? The grit, the toughness.” So maybe King isn’t the prototype voters drool over. Maybe he wouldn’t light up an NFL combine tomorrow. But Georgia Tech isn’t worried about that.
Haynes King Climbs the QB Ladder With Grit and Guts
Three weeks into the CFB season, the QB picture is starting to take shape, and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King is right in the thick of it. After guiding the Yellow Jackets past Clemson, he’s suddenly sitting at No. 2 in CBS Sports’ top-25 QB rankings—an eight-spot jump that screams “career resurgence.” Not bad for a guy who spent his first three seasons at Texas A&M searching for his footing.
King hasn’t just been a passer; he’s been a bulldozer too, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. That marked his second 100-yard rushing game in the last two weeks. And when it mattered most, King told his coaches, “They called my number. I told them I wanted the ball… just give me the ball.”
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GT is seeing a player playing through pain, elevating everyone around him, and giving his program an identity it hasn’t had in years. And if that isn’t Heisman-worthy in spirit, what is?