Retention of quarterbacks Haynes King, Aaron Philo big for Georgia Tech’s offense

King has played in 24 games for the Jackets since arriving from Texas A&M in January 2023. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound senior has thrown for nearly 5,000 yards, rushed for more than 1,300 and accounted for 62 touchdowns. His performance Nov. 29 against Georgia, in which he threw for 303 yards and two scores and ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns, was one of the more impressive games in the history of Clean Old-Fashioned Hate (even though the Jackets lost 44-42 in eight overtimes).

A Longview, Texas, native, King could have had one of the more impressive seasons in Tech history, too, had it not been for a shoulder injury. Faulkner said King was playing at a high level six games into the 2024 season and was ready to take off to an even higher stratosphere midway through 2024. But in a 41-34 victory at North Carolina, King took a hit to his throwing shoulder and wasn’t able to finish the contest.

He missed games against Notre Dame and at Virginia Tech, then played through the injury over the final four games of the year.

“I’m feeling really good,” King said last week, the first of spring practice for the Jackets. “The progression, at one point, it was hard. I wanted to get out there, wanted to do stuff. I hated sitting on my butt letting (the shoulder), I’d guess you’d say, heal and rest. That was a big part of it. But I’m feeling really good right now, healthy as ever, strong as ever. Weight’s back up, so feeling really good.”

Philo, meanwhile, began the 2024 season as the team’s No. 3 quarterback. He came off the bench during Tech’s loss at Virginia Tech, then was a key part of Tech’s offensive game plan in wins over Miami and North Carolina State — in the latter game, Philo led a last-minute scoring drive he capped himself with an 18-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left.

A 6-foot-2, 215-pound graduate of Prince Avenue Christian who threw for a state-record 13,902 yards during his prep career, Philo said this time last year his head was spinning trying to learn Tech’s offense and adjust to the speed of college football. But by the time fall rolled around, he added, he felt confident and comfortable and knew he’d be ready to contribute.

“I came here to play football. It’s what I love to do,” Philo said. “Any chance I get to go out there with the team, to be able to make plays and just play the game that I love, it’s something to be excited about. Whenever they told me (I would play in 2024), I got excited. I started preparing like I had all season and when my number’s called, I just took advantage of the opportunity.”

Tech’s ability to retain King and Philo on the roster cannot be understated in the era of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness (as well as the impending revenue sharing in college athletics which will allow athletes further financial gain). It would have been understandable had Philo decided to play somewhere else knowing King planned to return for 2025, or conversely, for King to play his final season elsewhere suspecting Philo is the future of the program.

Instead, Tech has two quarterbacks who have proved they are capable of winning games in the ACC. Few other programs can say that ahead of the 2025 season.

“I wish I could bottle it up and sell whatever it is here right now. It’s pretty cool, though,” Tech coach Brent Key told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s cool that you got, almost, a brotherhood now. Two phenomenal players, and how they complemented each other last year — but I don’t think either one of them is here to complement each other moving forward. Those two guys want to be the quarterback, but they also know they’re gonna make each other better and have made each other better. So it’s been awesome.”