JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It just means more. Especially coming from a certain point of view. If that’s the case, then we must say that 2020 QB pledge Carson Beck has already managed quite the feat.
It sounds even more science fiction than the 17 touchdowns and one interception (tipped pass) that Beck tallied up during the Florida Class 8A state championship playoffs last fall.
Beck actually got a Florida fan to gush about the future of the Georgia program.
His quarterback trainer, Denny Thompson, considers himself to be a Florida fan. He is also a likable personality on sports talk radio in their native Jacksonville. But it all still sounds like a “Bammer” talking up “War Eagle” or a Democrat giving our current President props for anything right now.
But those scenarios do somewhat parallel what Thompson has to say about Georgia.
“The thing I see from Georgia’s program right now is consistency,” Thompson said. “You walk through the Georgia hallways and you go through their facility and it is just different. It is professional. You go through everywhere else – and I’m not even talking about Florida – there is music everywhere, right? And there is playing around. Which is fine.”
Except maybe for what he saw in Clarke County when he joined Beck on an unofficial visit.
“Not at Georgia,” Thompson said. “Not at Georgia. It is very refined. It is very ‘this is what we are here to do.’ It is a business-like approach. It is more of an NFL approach. It is more like walking through the hallways of the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Atlanta Falcons.”
“That’s the thing that just immediately hit me when I was up in Athens.”
What else did he say? Well, Thompson offered up a few choice nuggets, including:
- The three ingredients as to why he feels the Bulldogs are so successful on the recruiting trail
- Why the staff is so appealing on the recruiting trail
- What Kirby Smart has done a “masterful” job of at Georgia
- How Carson Beck sold him on why Georgia was the perfect fit
The other thing that makes Kirby Smart so good at his job
His statements, of course, deserves a few natural qualifiers. Thompson considers his young son to the biggest Florida fan he knows. Thompson has also sent big-time QB prospects off to other schools like Auburn, Florida, FSU and Georgia.
He supplies his guys with the tools they need to win. Then it is up to them to decide which state their dormitory will be in.
“It is interesting [because] I’m a Florida fan,” Thompson states. “Not as much as I used to be because but we’ve got kids all across the country now and so I pull for them. So when Carson pulls on red and black, I’m putting on red and black. That’s a fact.”
It is also a fact that Smart took dead aim at his young son when they were in Athens.
“He said he was going to convert him,” Thompson said.
Smart proceeded to give Thompson’s son all-access to the program. He was treated like he was Beck’s more talented 2023 younger brother.
He has access to gear on the visit. Beck and his son basically turned the carpet of the Georgia locker room into their own indoor facility.
There was ample recruiting staff on hand to make sure his guy was well taken care of.
That said, this narrative can only go so far. Smart was unable to flip Thompson’s young son. That miracle will occur shortly after the Jacksonville Bulldog Club has Dan Mullen as a summer guest speaker.
But he truly got to be a Georgia Bulldog in every sense of the word for a day.
If you check Thompson’s phone, there are more photos on his young quarterback-to-be in red and black in there than he thought he would see in a lifetime.
His name is Walker Thompson. There’s still some hope for him yet on that front. Smart might not be done. Yet.
“Funny story,” Denny Thompson said. “He was named after Herschel. My wife is a huge Georgia fan. He was born on Herchel’s birthday.”