ATHENS — Kirby Smart didn’t even have to be asked the question. The Georgia head coach came out and just named Carson Beck the starting quarterback, ending months of speculation as to who would officially replace Stetson Bennett.
In the end, Beck’s experience proved to be a big reason the fourth-year quarterback won the job.
“That rep volume is kind of the separator,” Smart said. “He’s had the ability to understand when the defense is doing this, or they’re in this, I need the answer. He’s had good answers.”
Beck is the only one of Georgia’s three quarterbacks to ever complete a pass in a game. He served as Bennett’s backup last season and impressed in limited opportunities.
He completed 26 of his 35 pass attempts for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns. Crucially, he didn’t have any interceptions in those pass attempts. That will be something Beck needs to continue to do if he is to maintain the starting quarterback job.
Smart came to his decision earlier in the week and communicated it to Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton. Smart was once again impressed with how the two backups played in the scrimmage, making it a point to praise the pair anytime Beck’s name was mentioned.
Smart did emphasize Beck’s expertise of the offense. Georgia will have a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Mike Bobo this year, but much of the offensive system will remain the same from when Todd Monken was the team’s offensive coordinator.
“There’ll be little nuances that change of how we do things and a lot of what’s our identity going to be offensively,” Bobo said earlier in August. “You might see some changes if our identity changes of who we are offensively. We don’t have a guy that can possibly extend plays as well.”
Beck isn’t expected to be the runner that Bennett was for Georgia, with that both being a strength of Vandagriff and Stockton. Smart hasn’t yet decided on which of those two will be the back-up quarterback, as Georgia still has around eight more practices until the Bulldogs open against UT-Martin on Sept. 2. Both players are likely to see action in that game, but whether that comes when the game is still competitive has not yet been decided.
This is not the first time Beck has been in a starting quarterback battle, as he and Bennett competed to replace JT Daniels for the UAB game in 2021. Despite being the No. 2 quarterback entering fall camp, Beck got passed by Bennett and he never looked back.
Beck has grown from that experience and seems posted to do as Bennett once did in the Georgia offense.
“We have a lot of volume on our defense and we throw it at them,” Smart said. We have a lot of volume on our offense and we throw it at them. It’s challenging, and Carson can handle that really well.
“But Carson is very knowledgeable, very intelligent, one of the smartest quarterbacks I’ve been around when it comes to handling the volume of offense we want him to do.”
Beck won’t just be the starting quarterback for this Georgia team, but a key leader. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, after all.
Teammates had already noticed a more confident Beck during fall camp. Beck seemed to have one of his stronger showings in camp on Saturday, according to those who saw the scrimmage at Sanford Stadium.
When Beck was given first-team reps with the Georgia offense in the spring, he shined on G-Day. He looked to be Georgia’s top quarterback by far, completing 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 210 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia seems to be betting the confidence, along with Beck’s experience and knowledge of the game, will empower him to do what is necessary to be the starting quarterback at Georgia.
“Carson’s a guy who, I like to say, comes to work. He’s confident in himself, and that’s the biggest thing,” wide receiver Ladd McConkey said. “When he gets his confidence, he gets rolling. No one’s stopping him.
“To play quarterback, you’ve got to have a little swagger about you.”
