ATHENS — Carson Beck has made up his mind. The Georgia quarterback will be returning to Athens for another season.
Beck made the announcement on social media.
“My friends and family have helped put me in a situation to have options for my future,” Beck said in a post shared by the Georgia football account. “However, the NFL can wait one more year. I am returning to UGA for my senior season. We need everyone’s support in Miami to close this season out the right way!”
Beck started 13 games for Georgia this past season, leading the Bulldogs to a 12-1 record. He completed 72 percent of his passes on the season. His 3,738 passing yards ranked second in the SEC. Beck threw for 22 touchdowns and rushed for another four, while throwing only six interceptions on the season.
He played without his top options for much of the season, with wide receiver Ladd McConkey missing six games due to injury and Bowers missing three.
Beck’s best games came in wins over Florida, Ole Miss and Tennessee. His lone loss came in the SEC championship game, though it should be pointed out that Beck led Georgia on consecutive touchdown drives to end the game.
After waiting three full seasons to become Georgia’s starter, Beck won his first 12 games at Georgia. He led the Bulldogs to a third-straight 12-0 regular season.
“To go through an SEC schedule, 12 games and to win each and every one, it’s not something easy to do, you know? It’s not easy, but I’m super proud of these guys,” Beck said after the SEC championship game. “And obviously to come into this game and not, you know, finish the way that we wanted to and kind of leave the destiny of our team in someone else’s hands rather than us handling it ourselves, you know, that’s hard, but at this point it’s out of our control. But, you know, we fought hard and I thought throughout the season we showed that, you know, we were a really dominant team.”
Georgia has already seen one quarterback depart this offseason, as redshirt sophomore Brock Vandagriff transferred to Kentucky. He appeared in eight games this season as a backup for Beck. He will have two years of eligibility remaining at Kentucky. The Bulldogs and Wildcats meet on Sept. 14.
As for the future of Georgia’s quarterback room, the Bulldogs do bring back quarterback Gunner Stockton. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. Stockton appeared in three games this season for the Bulldogs.
Georgia has seen 2024 quarterback Ryan Puglisi enroll at Georgia, with the 4-star quarterback arriving this weekend. Georgia does hold a commitment from 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, though he took a visit to Nebraska this past weekend. The early signing period begins on Wednesday.
Georgia’s offense is expected to undergo significant changes next season, as long-time contributors such as Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey and Sedrick Van Pran are all expected to head off to the NFL. Expect the Bulldogs to use the transfer portal to address some of the concerns, specifically at the wide receiver position. Georgia landed wide receivers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas out of the transfer portal last offseason.
The Bulldogs will finish the 2023 season against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. The game is set for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff, with ESPN broadcasting the game.
