Summertime is the time for college football preview magazines and one of the most prominent in the country is Lindy’s Sports. It is a must-read for every college football fan in the offseason, from the team previews to positional rankings, it is full of information for the upcoming season.
Lindy’s ranks the top 25 quarterbacks in the country every offseason, but there was one notable name missing in their top 25 this year and it was Georgia Tech’s Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets signal caller did not make the cut this year despite being one of the most productive quarterbacks returning to college football this season.
Here was the complete top-25:
1. Cade Klubnik- Clemson
2. Garrett Nussmeier- LSU
3. Arch Manning-Texas
4. Drew Allar- Penn State
5. Carson Beck-Miami
6. LaNorris Sellers- South Carolina
7. DJ Lagway-Florida
8. Sam Leavitt-Arizona State
9. Kevin Jennings-SMU
10. John Mateer-Oklahoma
11. Luke Altmyer-Illinois
12. Diego Pavia- Vanderbilt
13. Rocco Becht- Iowa State
14. Taylen Green-Arkansas
15. John Hoover=TCU
16. Devon Dampier- Utah
17. Julian Sayin- Ohio State
18. Fernando Mendoza-Cal
19. Darian Mensah- Duke
20. Sawyer Robertson- Baylor
21. Dylan Raiola- Nebraska
22. Nico Iamaleava- UCLA
23. Demond Williams- Washington
24. Blake Horvath- Navy
25. Avery Johnson- Kansas State
Most quarterback offseason rankings have had King much higher.
Since transferring to Georgia Tech, King has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country and a true dual threat when healthy. Injuries sidetracked his 2024 campaign, but he showed in the loss against Georgia what he is capable of doing when he is healthy. There is no doubt that King is one of the best quarterbacks in the country heading into the season and ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy had King in his top ten quarterbacks list earlier this spring.
In a recent article ranking the top quarterbacks in the country, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg ranked King 9th and included some interesting quotes from an ACC defensive coordinator and a General Manager from the conference about King:
Why he’s ranked: “King is set to enter his sixth college season this fall, and he brings an exciting combination of experience and varied skills for a Georgia Tech team set to take another jump. He’s one of the nation’s most accomplished dual-threat quarterbacks, after rushing for 1,324 yards and 21 touchdowns during the past two seasons. King has dealt with injuries, sitting out most of the 2021 season and several games last year, but he can hurt defenses in multiple ways when healthy. In 2023, he joined Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels as the only quarterbacks with at least 2,800 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, 700 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Despite sitting out two games and being limited in two others, King still eclipsed 2,000 passing yards, approached his 2023 rushing total and showed significant improvement in his overall efficiency.”
What they’re saying: Georgia Tech coach Brent Key pointed to King’s improvement in 2024, telling me last month, “He made a ton of improvement, went from 16 interceptions the year before that and limited it to only two last year. One was a throwaway early in the season and one in the last game, so he made a drastic improvement there.”
Others in the ACC recognize King’s intangibles.
“Haynes King is a winner, competitor, almost an elite runner,” an ACC defensive coordinator said. “He was fast, fast.”
“I’m very high on King as far as a college QB,” an ACC general manager said. “He’s not a guy that will be a top draft pick but knows how to win and he’s tough as s—.”
If King can stay healthy this season then Georgia Tech should remain a dynamic offense and he can elevate his draft stock for the next level.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
