Inside what Georgia Tech coach Brent Key likes to refer to as “the best quarterback room in the country,” two young QBs await to show their mettle should the opportunity arise in 2025.
Aaron Philo and Graham Knowles are Tech’s No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks, respectively, this spring behind incumbent starter Haynes King. Both are expected to be ready for game action should King not be able to go at any point.
“I make sure they understand that every day is a new day. There’s always things to work on,” Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke said Tuesday. “The best part about my room, and that’s all the guys in there, they wanna be coached. They don’t wanna just be average. They wanna be great. And that’s a daily routine for them. They take the right approach, they ask the right questions, they put their cleats on to go to practice to work every single day. I appreciate that. That’s the best part of my job, when you have guys that are wired the right way, that are willing to work.”
Philo, Georgia high school’s all-time passing yards leaders with 13,922, was thrust into action in 2024, his first on The Flats. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound graduate of Prince Avenue Christian in Bogart made his debut Sept. 14 against Virginia Military Institute and threw a 1-yard completion to wide receiver Abdul Janneh in the fourth quarter of a 59-7 win.
That completion was one of three in that game and one of 38 for the season for Philo. He played a major role in Tech’s upset win over Miami, throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass in that victory, and was the star of the show in the Yellow Jackets’ thrilling triumph over North Carolina State — Philo threw for 265 yards and rushed for 57 and had the game-winning 18-yard touchdown run.
But Philo recalled that this time last year life was coming at him pretty fast.
“I would say the jump was pretty big in the spring,” Philo said March 6. “You’re getting out there for spring practice, your head’s spinning. You’re learning the playbook, you’re adjusting to the speed of the game, it’s just a lot of stuff going on. Late spring is when I really started to pick it up and kind of get comfortable. But fall camp I felt was really when I kind of emerged and was able to show my skill set, not thinking as much. When you’re not thinking as much, you’re able to execute at the higher level, move quicker.”
Knowles (6-7, 220) didn’t see the field in 2024, but like Philo, is entering his second season with the Jackets. Knowles is a former three-star prospect from Southlake Carroll High School in Texas who chose the Jackets over Memphis and Colorado State, among others.
As a senior in 2023, Knowles threw for 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns at Southlake Carroll.
“I had a similar situation in high school where I was behind Quinn Ewers (now at Texas) and Kaden Anderson (now at Wyoming),” Knowles said. “My coach always used to say, ‘You just gotta be ready.’ It’s tough because I feel like I can be out there making plays, I know I can be out there making plays, but also so can everyone else in our (group). We got a really great (group) from the top down. All of our quarterbacks could play pretty much anywhere. My big thing is just knowing when my time comes, I’ll be ready to take my opportunity to help this team win games.”
In its last recruiting cycle, Tech signed Grady Adamson, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound Oklahoman who is expected to join the team over the summer. Adamson threw for 2,165 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior at Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma.
But until then, Philo and Knowles will have the upper hand on continuing to make strides toward being the next go-to Tech quarterback.
“Over the spring I just want to be more consistent,” Philo said. “Consistency is a big thing. And if you can be consistent every day, then that makes the coaches able to trust you. I just want to work on being consistent every day and just showing good things every single day.”
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