22 Players in 22 Days: #9 Haynes King

Position: Quarterback
Classification: Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown: Longview, TX
Listed Height: 6’3”
Listed Weight: 205 lbs.

Key notes on Liucci’s thoughts on King

• Too low. Too low. We're going to look back at Haynes King, Max Johnson, Conner Weigman — whoever QB1 is — and Evan Stewart and say we ranked them too low.
   
• It’s hard to tell. Haynes started two games and finished one. You probably saw him play less than four quarters. If camp ended today and you had a game tomorrow, the starter would be Haynes King. There are still two out of three scrimmages left, and you know how much value Jimbo Fisher puts into that. Haynes has done a good job in camp thus far.
   
• Haynes is slept on nationally. Three quarters of a guy's first career start, and they jump to way too many conclusions. He won the backup job as a true freshman. That’s hard to do as a true freshman in Jimbo's offense, and then he won the job a year ago. People are sleeping on his ability. He is throwing better than he ever has. He still has the legit 4.45 speed. There are plenty of receivers in this conference that could not compete with him in a foot race.
   
• Saying A&M wanted no part of Wake Forest in the bowl game is laughable. Haynes and Devon Achane would have combined for 500 yards against that Wake Forest defense, maybe 600 yards. The narrative would have been different if they had played that game. We’ve really only seen him in his first career start and two drives on his second. My question is how high can they go in the QB rankings? If the starter, I think Haynes has top-five potential.
   
• Whoever is QB2, he will be as good as a backup as anyone in the league. Who is everyone talking about? Last year was Bryce Young’s first year as a starter. It was KJ Jefferson’s first year as a starter. It's what they did in year one that makes people excited. Why would fans assume that King can’t have a big-time year in year one as a starter? The reason all the guys are ranked highly is because they kicked butt as a first-year starter. Haynes can really thrive as a runner and a passer.
   
• King has been through two true quarterback battles. One battle for a backup job. That leg injury made him really hungry. He wanted this chance for three years. The coaches came to him about Max Johnson, and he said, “Yes, we need him.” Haynes knows that Max could have beat him out. Max nor Haynes are going to sit back and think they have anything locked up. Haynes is ready to get out there and has the most experience in the system. The injury he had ripped away his year from him. He was throwing passes on one leg. You couldn’t keep him in the barn.