Georgia Tech senior quarterback Haynes King put together quite an impressive stat sheet in 2024, which included 2,114 passing yards and 14 touchdown passes. King managed to lead the Yellow Jackets offense to a 7-5 record last season and an appearance at the Birmingham Bowl.
King, who played at Texas A&M before transferring to Georgia Tech, has quite a backstory. While Georgia Tech fans see King throw with his right hand, he is actually a left-hander. He’ll be throwing, though, as a right-hander when the Yellow Jackets open their season against the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder, Colorado, on Friday, August 29, at 8 p.m. ET.
How Did Haynes King Become a Right-Handed Passer?
What’s the backstory around King’s passing abilities? It involves something that happened in his youth, a situation where King’s left hand was quite damaged. The event that took place back in King’s native Texas would also change the trajectory of his football career down the road.
King, who was raised in Longview, Texas, remembered one Christmas when he was staying with his grandparents, Jerry Wayne and Linda Stillman, at their home. According to Georgia Tech’s official website, King was having fun with his cousins at the time.
Haynes King is a name to watch this college football season 👀@KirkHerbstreit selects the Georgia Tech QB for the Under the Radar Herbie 🔥🏈 pic.twitter.com/1Al6zudIsB
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 23, 2025
“Being kids, probably doing stuff we weren’t supposed to,” King said. Apparently, it was some kind of weird tradition that saw a King family member injured and requiring medical help during the Christmas family time together.
At this time, someone was going for a run on his grandparents’ treadmill. King thought it would be a good idea to have some fun and play around with that person. But this turned into a nightmare pretty quickly.
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Suddenly, King’s left hand was pulled under the treadmill’s belt. “My hand ended up getting stuck in the bottom of it and ripped the skin off,” King said. “I [had to] go to the emergency room.”
Who Taught King to Throw as a Right-Hander?
Former Florida Gators player Tate Casey, a star on his father’s high school team, stopped by the Kings’ home. At that time, Casey decided to show King how to throw as a right-hander. That helped King eventually develop a college career as a quarterback.
King, in five seasons as a college quarterback at Texas A&M and Georgia Tech, has thrown for 6,535 yards and 51 touchdowns, according to StatMuse. The Yellow Jackets hope that King will be able to lead them to a better record this season. Georgia Tech fans will get their first chance to root for him on Friday, August 29.
