It was assumed, before the start of this week anyway, that Georgia Tech’s quarterback group in 2026 would be fronted by Aaron Philo. That assumption was made in haste.
With Wednesday’s news that Philo will not be with the Yellow Jackets this month as they prepare for the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU on Dec. 27, and the added wrinkle that plans to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2, Tech will start a new and different era behind center come January.
Current starter Haynes King will play his final college game against BYU at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, thus ending the chapter on one of the more successful runs by a Tech QB in program history.
Philo was expected to pick up where King left off. Instead, here’s a glance at where the program’s quarterback group stands ahead of the 2026 season.
Graham Knowles
After not seeing the field and redshirting in 2024, Knowles finally got to throw a collegiate pass Sept. 6 in the home opener against Gardner-Webb. That one pass went to wide receiver Dean Patterson for an 84-yard touchdown and gave Knowles a somewhat humorous passer rating of 1,135.
Knowles (6-foot-7, 230 pounds) graduated from Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, where he threw for 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing 73% of his passes as a senior. He was a three-star recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“I think it’s a perfect example of trusting the process,” Tech quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke said in August. “When you talk about a guy that came in as a true freshman, it’s hard — especially in our offense, with all the volume that we have — for any young guy to come in and grasp that right away. There’s no substitute for experience. And what you see in terms of when he first arrived to today, it’s night and day. You look at just his first spring compared to his second spring, and you can see the jump that he made.”
Grady Adamson
A 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman, Adamson redshirted this season after arriving from Edmond, Oklahoma, where he graduated from Deer Creek High School.
Adamson threw for 7,646 yards and 84 touchdowns during his prep career. He was the second commitment toward Tech’s 2025 signing class and was considered a three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite.
Cole Bergeron
On Dec. 1, Bergeron backed off his previous commitment to Virginia Tech and then signed with Georgia Tech four days later.
A 6-foot-4, 210-pound native of Louisiana, Bergeron threw for more than 2,700 yards his senior season and completed 27 touchdown throws.
“The stability of the program is No. 1,” Bergeron told KATC-TV about his signing with Georgia Tech. “Coach Key is going to be there for a good while. He’s a great coach. And coach Weinke stayed true to the process. He recruited me since May and never stopped calling or texting. It’s good to go to a place where you’re really wanted.”
The transfer market
According to 247Sports, already more than 50 quarterbacks in Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision) plan to transfer this offseason. Could Key look to free agency to find his starting QB in 2026?
King, after all, was a transfer from Texas A&M going into the 2023 season. Key also signed Zach Gibson, out of Akron, to the ’23 roster.
Tech did not bring in a transfer quarterback for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
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