College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.
Georgia Tech will be without star quarterback Haynes King against No. 12 Notre Dame this weekend, sources told ESPN, giving veteran backup Zach Pyron his third career start.
King has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has been considered “day-to-day” by Tech coach Brent Key heading into the matchup with the Irish (5-1).
He’ll be replaced by Pyron, an experienced backup who has played in 16 career games and started twice as a true freshman in 2022. Pyron has played situationally in all seven games for Georgia Tech (5-2) this season, accounting for five combined touchdowns.
Pyron is the rare veteran backup who stuck around, embraced his role and has been patient in a transient environment. He has also logged a lot of important snaps for the Yellow Jackets, which included a rushing touchdown in Georgia Tech’s upset of then-No. 10 Florida State in the opener in Dublin.
He’ll play in place of King, a redshirt junior who has been a staple at Tech the past two seasons after transferring from Texas A&M. King has thrown for 5,989 yards in his career and has eight passing touchdowns and just one interception this year. He also rushed for 353 yards and six touchdowns last season and threw for 1,568 yards.
In Pyron, Tech has a gutsy backup who brings a dual threat and familiarity with Buster Faulker’s offense. He has completed 5-of-7 passing this year for 64 yards and a touchdown. He has rushed 17 times in seven games this season and has four rushing touchdowns.
Pyron’s starts in 2022 included a memorable comeback over Virginia Tech that proved to be a key victory in coach Brent Key’s interim tenure.
Pyron engineered a comeback trailing 27-16 in the final 10 minutes, putting together consecutive scoring drives of 90 yards and 73 yards to give Georgia Tech a 28-27 victory. That included a 9-yard game-winning touchdown run with 3:30 left. Pyron passed for 253 yards and a touchdown in that upset win, and he rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets will be facing a Notre Dame team without its best defensive player, as star corner Benjamin Morrison will be out for the remainder of the season with a hip injury.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.