King has to remain sharp to retain the QB job

Newly minted Georgia Tech starting quarterback Haynes King only has the guarantee of starting against Louisville and he made it clear during a media session on Wednesday he is taking nothing for granted as both Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson want to unseat him atop the depth chart.

Jackets' head coach Brent Key broke the news to King that he would be the starter in the opener on Monday as Tech gets ready to begin game week preparations for the Cardinals on Thursday.

"I had a big smile on my face," King said of hearing the news from Key. "I was excited because it was a tough battle, Zach Pryon and Zach Gibson, we are brothers and we are part of this Georgia Tech family and I definitely couldn't have done it without them because without competition you get complacent and they pushed me to the max limit and it was a hard decision. At the end of the day, I came out on top and I just had a big smile on my face."

Winning the starting job is not a new thing for King who was named the starter to open the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Texas A&M his former school, but his 2021 season ended on play six of game two with a season-ending lower leg injury and he was benched a few games into the 2022 season, regained the starting job again and then was benched a second time before he left College Station as a graduate transfer this offseason with three years of eligibility remaining. King said those experiences helped him with the competition at Tech.

"It is just like anything, the more experience you have the better you are going to be. It doesn't matter what it is, playing football, cooking, cleaning, or anything else. The more experience you have the better it is going to be and the better you are going to be able to handle stuff like this," King said.

With such a tight competition, King said he has to look over his shoulder and push every day to improve. He said the competition is far from over.

"It is not behind us," King said of the quarterback competition. "You have to go out and compete every day. (Pryon) is coming for my stop both Zachs are and I can't let it get taken and I just have to compete every day and be prepared mentally and physically."

Intense competition has been a fundamental of Key's brief era of Georgia Tech football and that is something that has impressed King beyond even the quarterback room.

"Everything Key has done since I stepped on this campus I've agreed with. He handles things the right way. He let everybody know what the standard is and he told us straight up what he was going to grade us on and we were going to be graded every day and it was going to be on the four pillars, toughness, discipline, execution and commitment. Every day he graded us on it and I've and agreed with everything he has done since day one."

Next Friday King will make his debut on the White and Gold in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and he is ready to go.

"I'm pumped up. New atmosphere, new coaches and new fans. It is just pumped up for both teams and you never know what to expect. They've got transfers, we've got transfers, they've got new coaches and we've got new coaches, It is everything, Everybody's all in right now and ready to go."