I guess there's some recency bias in some of these posts, but I've been a GT fan since 1990.
Shawn Jones will always be my guy, and he led us to multiple wins against UGA PLUS a Natty.
Joe Hamilton wasn't beloved when he first started as a redshirt, but by the time he left, he was legend. JoeHam was involved in some wars with Miami and FSU...I can't count how many times I saw Joe Ham get crushed by Miami's and FSU's defenders (back when they had defenses stacked with future NFL Hall of Famers), and get back up to for some more. Those are the games I thought of when Haynes King was playing against UGA.
Josh Nesbitt was the definition of tough. There's literally a meme of him and how his expression never changes. The shots he took, and the shots he dished playing in that Flex Option offense are legendary. He willed us to wins. His will to win kicked started so many memes and inspired so many sayings about him.
JeT reminded me a lot of Joe Ham in that he was undersized, but kept coming right back after every hit. Both Josh and JeT were tough in different ways, but tough nonetheless. One thing JeT, Nesbitt, and Haynes all had in common were they all kept out of the spotlight off the field, and let their play do all the talking.
The only thing Haynes King is missing from his resume is the wins that Nesbitt, JeT, Little Joe, and Shawn Jones all had. One thing King has in common with Jones is their role in bringing this program out of the ashes. That means a LOT. Haynes doesn't play second to anyone in the history of GT football when it comes to his desire to win, and take the best shots from the other team. This dude will literally play broken and bloodied for this program. When you make a room full of lifelong UGA fans sing your praises, you know you're doing something right.
Haynes King is quickly becoming one of my favorite GT athletes in any sport. That said, for me, King still needs a signature season like Jones in 1990, Hamilton in 1998, Nesbitt in 2009, and JeT in 2014. He'll get another season to do just that in what's setting up to be a possible special season in 2025.