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ATLANTA — When Haynes King enrolled at Texas A&M in 2020, Elijah Robinson was the Aggies’ defensive line coach. Since then, Robinson has slowly climbed the coaching ladder, finding himself as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, King has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

King doesn’t have the strongest arm. He’s not the fastest player. With what he lacks in standout physical traits, he makes up for with his toughness and discipline. That’s what happens when you have six years of college football under your belt.

In No. 7 Georgia Tech’s (8-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 41-16 blowout win over Syracuse (3-5, 1-4 ACC), that experience showed. King was a one-man wrecking crew, finishing with a season-high 304 passing yards, completing 25 out of his 31 passes and accounting for all five of GT’s touchdowns (three passing, two rushing). King was also the Yellow Jackets’ leading rusher (91 yards), an unsurprising occurrence considering the quarterback entered Saturday with 560 yards this season.

“King did a really good job the entire game, running and passing,” said Syracuse head coach Fran Brown postgame. “So hats off, (he’s) probably a Heisman candidate. He’s a really good football player.”

Robinson and Syracuse got the better of King last season, with the Orange defeating then-No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 on Sept. 7, 2024. The quarterback finished with over 330 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough.

This season was a different story. Georgia Tech is arguably the hottest team in college football, while King is in contention for the Heisman trophy. This week, King had the fifth-highest odds (+7500) to win, per FanDuel Sports. But in Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key’s eyes, he doesn’t see any scenario where King isn’t a finalist.

“Find me somebody else on (a) team that brings more value to the team, that is truly the epitome of what a team is rooted in,” Key said postgame. “He can run, he can throw. I’m glad he’s on my team.”

Syracuse couldn’t keep up with King at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech’s system caused the Orange issues all game. The Yellow Jackets use a heavy run-pass-option offense, placing a lot of pressure on King to make the right decision.

It all depends on the opposing linebackers. Overcommit expecting the run? King will pull it and fire a dot to a receiver. Backtrack a couple steps, and King can hand it to Jamal Haynes or Malachi Hosley. Maybe he will even keep it himself. Usually, King runs simple RPOs with the running back in the backfield, but he makes it tough for defenses when he brings wide receivers in motion and either fakes it or gives it to them.

“(There’s) a lot of motions and eye candy,” Syracuse safety Devin Grant said. “It’d easy to have your eyes in different places and stuff like that. Get them off your responsibility. And today, I just feel like we just, we beat ourselves. Eyes were bad tackling, but nothing that we can’t fix.”

Grant’s assessment was correct, as King gave Syracuse trouble from the start. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Syracuse had to respect King’s rushing ability. He’s had four games with at least 100 yards on the ground this season, and he’ll punish you if there aren’t enough bodies around the ball.

However, Syracuse might’ve respected him too much as a runner Saturday. He would’ve had a walk-in touch pass to Josh Beetham via an RPO on GT’s opening drive, but Beetham dropped the pass. The tight end would make up for it later in the second quarter.

Tied 3-3, J.T. Byrne came in motion, and King faked the give before firing to Beetham on a crossing route. Syracuse safety Duce Chestnut didn’t follow him, leaving the tight end open with an easy score. Later in the quarter, Beetham came in motion as King faked a handoff to Haynes. Beetham was wide open in the flat, and King connected with him in the end zone for a second time on the day, making it 17-3.

“He’s a leader, he takes after coach Key. It seems like those guys got a really good relationship,” Brown said. “Y’all will watch him play on Sunday at some point in time. If he doesn’t play on Sunday when he’s done, he’ll run some company or do something. Like, he’s a tough kid.”

Even on non-RPO plays, Syracuse was getting torched by King.

Syracuse cut its deficit to 10 coming out of the half. Rickie Collins hit Johntay Cook for a 41-yard connection, and he found Darrell Gill Jr. on a slant for a 34-yard score. In just two plays, Collins nearly tripled his passing total (33 yards).

The Orange were building momentum as King faced a third-and-12. Grant came on a delayed blitz, forcing King to scramble and floated a ball towards Zion Taylor for a first down. Three plays later, King faked a jet sweep handoff and tossed a screen to Dean Patterson, who scampered down the sideline for a 37-yard score. Following that, Syracuse never got within two possessions of Georgia Tech.

“He’s an elite player,” Grant said. “Elite with his feet, and he can still put the ball in the air. So whenever you play a quarterback that can (be a) dual threat quarterback, you know you have to worry about two things. So it makes it a little bit difficult.”

King put the icing on the cake with two rushing touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter. On both occasions, he faked pitches to the outside and maneuvered his way across the goal line.

Georgia Tech’s playcalling variety kept Syracuse on its heels.

Last season, Jeff Nixon used RPOs constantly. It was an avenue for Kyle McCord to get the ball out quickly for short gains to build momentum. With an inexperienced quarterback like Collins, there’s less nuance to Syracuse’s offense. RPOs are almost nonexistent, and the Orange have consequently struggled to move the ball.

Although Collins finished with 224 yards through the air, most of it came in garbage time with SU down three possessions.

“When we have the momentum, we look pretty good,” Collins said. “How we came out and played in the second half, that’s who we can be the whole game. (It’s) something to build off of, for sure.”

If Collins and the offense can sustain more productive drives, it’ll help the defense out by keeping them more rested. Yet, even if Collins upped his game Saturday, the Orange still had no answer for King.

It’s been the case for all of Georgia Tech’s opponents this season. The Yellow Jackets are undefeated. They control their own destiny for the ACC Championship game and a College Football Playoff appearance. Most of that can be attributed to King.

The quarterback is putting the program on his back. In December, he might even get a chance at some personal hardware.

“It’d be a shame if he’s not in New York,” Key said.

Published on October 25, 2025 at 7:09 pm
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