ATHENS — The college football free agent window trumps the recruiting signing period in the land of reality, even as both are important to a program’s growth and success.

Georgia football took a giant step toward making another championship run and maintaining elite status with Carson Beck’s decision to return for another season on Monday.

The Bulldogs will sign another elite class of freshman filled with future stars on Wednesday, and that’s a key to the future. Coaches spend an offseason building these classes with players they hope will be the foundation of the future.

Certainly, a sect of fanbases simply can’t get enough of recruiting, their hopes for incoming freshman players elevated to extremes.

But first things first, Kirby Smart made sure to take care of business for 2024 so that Georgia remains atop the list of schools that recruits flock to for visits and camps.

Smart just proved he can adapt to yet another new model in college football by locking Beck into place with time left on the portal shot clock.

There’s time for more dominoes will fall, among the most likely priority targets ….

• Elite UGA players Javon Bullard, Tate Ratledge

• Proven Florida tailback transfer Trevor Etienne

• Impact offensive tackle through recruiting or the transfer portal

• Impact receivers through recruiting or the portal

Smart clearly doesn’t subscribe to the concept of a rebuilding year, but that’s what Georgia was facing in 2024 if it had to gamble on an incoming portal quarterback to start.

The Bulldogs still have work to do filling out the skill positions around Beck, something the returning quarterback’s camp took into considerations during negotiations.

Georgia’s top 2023 targets, Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, are headed to the NFL barring an unforeseen turn of events.

But with Beck in place Smart has the staff and resources in place to replenish the well.

Great players will recognize the opportunity for a Georgia national championship in 2024, and history shows UGA will give them what they need to develop into elite NFL prospects during their stay in Athens.

A top-rated signing class, while important, does not have the same sort of immediate effect in this new free-agent market.

Consider Major League Baseball free agency versus the Major League Baseball draft, the immediate, and the future.

Beck brings immediate NFL talent, SEC game experience and grown man maturity that incoming recruits simply don’t have — and are not necessarily guaranteed to transition into.

Perhaps most importantly, Beck brings four years worth of the championship culture Smart and former UGA stars have built into the Georgia program.

The Bulldogs’ success in 2024 will help grow yet another crop of impressive signees for the 2025 class.

College football is a momentum game, and it’s up to Smart to figure out how to keep his Big Red Machine rolling down the tracks.

Taking care of priority free agents has become part of the game, and this offseason Beck’s return topped the to-do list to put Georgia in position to win the 2024 national championship.