Georgia coach Kirby Smart provided an update on injured quarterback Carson Beck.
“The only thing I can update is they are still going through those deliberations in terms of decision-making process time and all those decisions they have to make as a family,” Smart said.
Smart had previously said that Beck was away from the team and with his family down in Jacksonville, Fla., while the Bulldogs were practicing ahead of the College Football Playoff.
With Beck likely out, Georgia is likely to turn to Gunner Stockton to replace Beck. The Bulldogs did so in the SEC Championship game, with Stockton completing 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 71 yards and an interception. Stockton added 8 rushing yards as well.
Stockton has been able to take plenty of reps with the first-team offense with Beck out in recent weeks. Georgia has liked what Stockton has shown the team in practice.
“He got lots of reps prior to these practices, but he’s getting much more now,” Smart said. “I do think knowing that, you know, when you get ready for a, opponent like Notre Dame, you need time. We haven’t known who we were going to play for you know, I guess now what, 24-48 hours we’ve known, 72 hours. There’s certainly a lot of time in prep you can do to prepare for that. We prepared for some of that prior to that because we knew it would be within two opponents. But I think the biggest thing is just the competition at practice. You know, the situations we put him in, all those things allow him to get better as a quarterback.”
Beck has started all 13 games for Georgia this season, throwing for 28 touchdowns, 3,485 yards and 12 interceptions. In his time as Georgia’s starter, Beck is 24-3.
Stockton will be making his first career start against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who advanced in the College Football Playoff on Friday with a 27-17 win over Indiana. It will be a strong first test for Stockton, as Notre Dame fields one of the best defenses in the country.
Stockton is a more mobile quarterback than Beck, but Smart pumped the brakes on if the offense will look any different.
“I think we are who we in regards to that,” Smart said. “We’ve played an entire season offensively. Gunner is a good athlete. I think Carson is a good athlete. It’s one of those deals of I don’t know how much that changes things.”
Smart has some experience with a quarterback making his first start against Notre Dame, as the Bulldogs did so with Jake Fromm back in the 2017 season. The Bulldogs came away with a 20-19 win over the Fighting Irish that day. Fromm would go on to lead Georgia to an SEC title an appearance in the national championship game.
The game against Notre Dame is set for an 8:45 p.m. ET start. ABC will broadcast the game.
