If the key to a football team’s offensive success starts at the quarterback position, Georgia Tech feels pretty good about its 2025 roster.
“I would argue we have one of the best quarterback (groups) in the country coming back next year with those guys here,” Tech coach Brent Key said Monday on 680 The Fan. “Haynes (King) has a lot of experience. We know what (Aaron) Philo is as a young guy. We’ll continue to develop that position, but I’m excited about that room.”
Tech will have something at the QB position that not many teams across college football can say in the modern era of the sport: a third-year starter.
King has thrown for 4,956 yards in two seasons with the Yellow Jackets (after transferring from Texas A&M) and completed 41 touchdown throws. His 2024 season, although slowed by a shoulder injury, was a vast improvement in terms of efficiency, as the Texan completed a single-season Tech record 72.9% of his throws and only threw two interceptions in 269 attempts.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound King heads toward his final season of college eligibility having rushed for 1,324 yards and scored 21 times on the ground.
King’s performance in the 44-42, eight-overtime loss at Georgia on Nov. 29, a game in which he threw for 303 yards, completed two touchdown passes, ran for 110 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns, arguably was one of the great individual outings in the history of the Clean Old-Fashioned Hate rivalry.
“Well, he’s the ultimate competitor,” Key said of King. “You won’t find a tougher guy than him.”
Tech is 14-10 when King plays and 0-2 when he’s not available. One of those two defeats the Jackets suffered with King on the sideline came Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech, when Philo came off the best for his first ACC action.
Philo threw for 184 yards and was intercepted once. But the Prince Avenue Christian graduate was elevated into the backup role ahead of Tech’s upset of No. 4 Miami on Nov. 9, when he threw for 67 yards and a touchdown.
In the following game against North Carolina State, on Nov. 21, Philo etched his name into Tech lore by throwing for 265 yards and running for 57. His 18-yard sprint to the end zone with 22 seconds left gave the Jackets a 30-29 victory.
Not only are King and Philo back for the 2025 season, but Graham Knowles also returns. Knowles is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound redshirt freshman who will be joined by incoming freshmen Grady Adamson (6-2, 215).
Key, speaking with 92.9 The Game on Monday, also noted wide receivers Bailey Stockton and Isiah Canion as offensive players he’s looking forward to seeing make significant improvements in 2025. Key highlighted linebackers Kyle Efford and E.J. Lightsey and defensive backs Rodney Shelley and Omar Daniels, too.
But, the third-year coach emphasized, the offensive and defensive lines are where Tech needs continued improvement each and every season.
“That’s where the game’s won or lost,” he told 680. “If you wanna play in these championship games, you gotta be able to run the ball and stop the run. That’s not saying you’re gonna run the ball 65-70 times a game, but there’s gonna be a point in time in that game where you gotta get a third-and-1, and that’s something we gotta improve on dramatically this year. That’s a two-to-three win swing right there.”
Tech is coming off a 7-6 campaign, its second consecutive such mark in as many seasons with Key in charge of the program. The former Tech offensive lineman is 18-16 as Tech’s coach, including his eight games as the program’s interim coach during the 2022 season.
The Jackets are to open the 2025 season at Colorado (9-4 in 2024) on Aug. 30 and have matchups scheduled with ACC-champion Clemson (10-4), Syracuse (10-3), Duke (9-4) and SEC-champion Georgia (11-3) on Nov. 29 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Key will be trying to lead Tech to at least eight wins for the first time since 2016 (9-4). He also wants the team to win consistently. For example, Tech hasn’t won three games in a row since 2018.
“This journey started out with learning how not to lose games. Then you learn how to win games. Now we’re to the point of it’s learning how to win consistently,” Key said. “Learning to truly to play to your standard every single game. Not having to up for a game and be different than other games. The consistency in winning is what’s gotta take place this year.”
