Everything From Georgia Tech QB Haynes King After Fall Camp Day 2

On having the best QB room in the country and how it pushes him as a leader… 

“I mean, we believe it, and we stand on that.  We believe here that we have best room in the country.  We walk in every day ready to compete and no job is safe. We have a healthy competition; it's not like somebody's hating on one another or any of that. We're actually best friends. We go eat and go golfing together. But when it's time to work, everybody's competing, whether it's lifting weights or on the field.  We're all so hard on each other and on ourselves as well.” 

On what he has seen from the offensive line so far… 

“As a whole,  I feel like it's shaping up really good.  We've had more depth than we've had in past years. A lot of talented guys.  Right now, I guess we're in that mode of trying to figure out which one is the best five. So like I said, with the quarterbacks, same as the quarterback competition, the O-line has competition as well, and it's good. It's just gonna make everybody better. And it also goes back to the depth, what I was talking about. Whoever wins the job, that's good, hats off, but it also improves our depth. We'll be able to, I guess you'd say, this year, I feel really solid on our two deep. We have 10 guys and really even more than 10 guys that can actually play and get in there and operate.” 

On the competition he is seeing on both sides of the ball… 

“Oh, for sure. I mean, that's what Coach Key breeds. Competition. He doesn't want any complacency. That's the one elimination of complacency is competition. It pushes everybody to get them better. But when we're off the field, I'm going over there talking to DBs or D-line. Hey, what was that, what are y'all seeing? This, that?  When you're doing this, does it hurt y'all to do this or stuff like that?  So we get both sides of what's going on. It's only gonna make us better when you're talking and on the field you're competing like that.” 

On how different this group has changed in the last few years… 

“It feels different for sure, this is my last year, so I'm trying to soak in everything, and have fun,  never take anything for granted. The amount of speed that we have on this team now is a big improvement. I really want to get those pads on to see if that speed actually wants to hit as well.  I do think they want to hit.  So far, the past two days, we've had a physical camp. Guys are running and pursuing the ball defensively and chasing the ball offensively.” 

On where the confidence is coming from for this team… 

“Confidence comes from all the things you do in preparation. You've been through it, you've done it, you've put your body through it. Hats off to the training staff and all the strength training and all that. The athletic trainers for getting us back onto the field, and the nutritionists for keeping us on the field with how we fuel our bodies. With confidence, it comes through preparation and what you've done and how hard you've worked. We've worked our butts off this summer, and with competition, it's only going to make you better. Iron sharpens iron.”  

On how excited he is about the vertical passing game and its potential… 

“It makes you very excited. Coach Faulkner is making a big point on trying to be more explosive, and getting more explosive plays. That comes with the vertical pass game, whether it’s drop back play action and all that stuff.  You've got to be explosive to win ball games, and he did the statistics on that. When we're explosive,  we have a really good chance of scoring, whether it's a field goal touchdown. When we have more explosive plays that drive the touchdown ratio, it actually goes up.  That's the key factor, just more explosiveness.  Explosive plays.   But it makes you very excited and what this team is gonna be in the future.” 

On Zion Taylor’s development…. 

“Just the way he's developed since he stepped foot in the door,  how hard he's worked,  whether it's physical or mental, is outstanding. He's a great kid, wants to work, wants to get better each and every day.  The dialogue and the communication that he has on and off the field, just trying to learn more, be at the right spot, and wants to do good.  It's just outstanding. It's amazing to work with guys like that.”