These are the moments when a bare soul is forced to confront what’s real and reliable. The only thing sustainable over years of change.
With no time for feelings or vulnerability.
So when it hit rock bottom for Haynes King, when his dream of playing quarterback at Texas A&M ended after another frustrating season, and after three years of what could be was unceremoniously flushed, the only thing left was to call home and talk to his dad.
The one person who, from the day he broke his arm as a boy and through a litany of football-related injuries since, always shoots straight.
“I told him, ‘You can’t be a wuss, son,’” John King said. “And I didn’t use that nice word.”
So the toughest player in college football did what he learned long ago: suck it up, man up, move on.
The benefactor of this comeback story isn’t King’s dream school Texas A&M, but Georgia Tech and the impressive buildout from coach Brent Key — who swears none of this happens without King.
And his beautiful, broken road.
“Haynes King has played the game of football the same way his entire life,” Key said. ‘We could sit back there and throw it 85 times, and he’s still going to find a way to mix it up with someone.”
No matter the consequences.
A fractured ankle. A stress fracture in his lower leg. A torn labrum in his shoulder.
Ankle sprains. Bone bruises. Upper and lower body injuries littered over King’s six years on two college campuses, while doing the only thing that mattered: being the toughest S.O.B out there.
The Yellow Jackets are unbeaten midway through the season, riding the tough, inspiring play of the quarterback who just won’t give up. Play after play, game after game, draining every last ounce out of I’ll Show You.
“To be labeled a tough guy now, I kind of laugh at it. It’s come full circle,” Haynes said. “When I was growing up, I had to constantly prove myself. My dad didn’t think I was any kind of tough. He thought I was a, you know, I guess, a wimp.”
Haynes stops here because it’s all still fresh, and it all still works. It’s all still motivation.
“I don’t want to say the word he used,” he said.
So let’s say another: indispensable.
King’s dual threat ability is 65% of Georgia Tech’s offense. He leads the Jackets in passing, rushes, rush yards, and has accounted for 13 touchdowns (nine rush).
All after a five-year minefield of injuries and lost opportunity, of disappointment and disillusionment ― finally rolled into what could be a magical season for the one guy no one thought could be this kind of tough.
An athlete with great talent? Sure. All day long, while growing up in Longview, Texas, where it’s all football, all the time. Where they’re known for two things: Longview Lobos football, and where Matthew McConaughey attended high school.
It just so happens the longtime coach at Longview is John King, who made it clear to his son that, under no circumstance, would anyone think he’s daddy’s quarterback.
“Lot of tough love, lot of ass whooping from both momma and daddy,” John King said. “We were tough on him. Never made it easy, and he accepted every challenge. He was raised the right way, and respects everyone. But get him on the field, and he’s going to lay it all out.”
Like when he played with a fracture in his leg at Texas A&M, an injury that wasn’t diagnosed until he broke his ankle in his second start of the 2021 season against Colorado — and X-rays of the ankle also revealed the previously existing fracture.
Or when he played the entire 2024 season at Georgia Tech with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, an injury that has sidelined many college and pro quarterbacks over the years. Haynes managed the pain, and strengthened the shoulder through what he called “pre-hab” — strength and stretching exercises before every throwing session, practice and game.
Needless to say, it didn’t eliminate the pain. It just strengthened the shoulder and allowed him to play.
Or when he finally, tearfully, told the coaches at Texas A&M he intended to enter the transfer portal after the 2022 season. But not until after you graduate, John and Jodie King told their son.
Don’t even think about walking out on that commitment.
So Haynes graduated in three years from Texas A&M, and had an existing relationship with Georgia Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke. It didn’t take long to figure out where he was headed after leaving College Station.
“No (NIL) money was discussed, no starting position discussed. None of that crap,” John King said. “He was just given a chance to win the job the right way.”
It couldn’t have been a better fit. A four-year starter at right guard at Georgia Tech in the 1990s, Key has a unique perspective rarely seen these days in football: toughest guy wins.
Throw the ball around the park, and use fancy offensive schemes and concepts. But at the end of the day, somebody is wearing out the other. Full stop.
It may as well have been a marriage proposal to Haynes King.
“It was like I was coming home,” Haynes said.
There’s a reason Georgia Tech, with King at quarterback, had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since former coach Paul Johnson was running the triple option in 2013-14. The same reason King would’ve been a perfect fit for Johnson’s quarterback-centric run offense.
It’s not just King’s determination and desire, it’s how teammates respond to him. How an older and tighter team — 16 starters are either seniors or fourth-year juniors — has grown and developed with a quarterback who will do anything to get on the field. And stay there.
In 27 games at Georgia Tech (20 wins), King has accounted for 75 touchdowns (30 rush), and the Jackets have gone from an afterthought in the ACC to a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
“The toughest guy I’ve ever played with,” said Georgia Tech safety Omar Daniels.
There’s a word for that, too: winner.
“All my dad ever cared about was if I was a good teammate,” Haynes said. “It’s never about touchdowns or pass yards or rushing yards. It’s always, did you give it all for your teammates?”
He’s already proved that. He has another two months to show it.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Tech QB Haynes King is toughest player in college football
