Growing East Texas legend Haynes King bringing 'ultra competitor' persona to Panthers
The former Georgia Tech QB and Longview, Texas, native earned the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award before signing an NFL UDFA deal.
Growing East Texas legend Haynes King bringing 'ultra competitor' persona to Panthers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Haynes King returned home to Longview, Texas, a few times in the past few months.
In January, the former Georgia Tech quarterback returned to East Texas to receive the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award , recognizing Division I football's top offensive player with ties to the Lone Star State. Last month, King returned home for the 2026 NFL Draft proceedings. Despite passing for 2,951 yards and rushing for 953, King retained few allusions of being selected in the first round April 23 -- or the second or third the next night, for that matter.
When the third day of the showcase in Pittsburgh rolled around, King, the ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, remained alert, but stayed busy with yard work throughout the afternoon. The son of a high school football coach, King was raised with competitive discipline. The dual-threat quarterback understood that if he was going to get selected, it would likely be among the final selections.
During the sixth round, his agent informed him that the Carolina Panthers were interested in signing a developmental QB. After going undrafted, King quickly signed an NFL contract that included $250,000 in guaranteed money. He was ready to move from East Texas to Charlotte, N.