ATHENS — Carson Beck was headed to the NFL, until he wasn’t, and Trevor Etienne was returning to Georgia, until reversing field Tuesday night and announcing his departure.

The college football world has turned head-spinning for its followers, with a true free agency transfer policy in place and cloudy NIL inducements complicating modern-day roster management.

Even Georgia, the premier SEC football powerhouse with its two national titles and two league championships over the past four seasons, is not above the day-to-day fray.

Both Beck and Etienne have their reasons for leaving the Bulldogs’ program, even with remaining eligibility and a clear path to starting duties.

But there were reasons to stay, too, and that has left some wondering exactly what happened to lead to the marquee offensive stars’ departures.

Etienne, just more than a week ago, was expected to announce his return so that he could earn his college degree and win a national championship, like his older brother, former Clemson star and current NFL tailback Travis Etienne.

Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, in his due diligence, had reached out to Georgia earlier this season to learn which players he could invite to play in the all-star game in Mobile, which officially kicks off the postseason NFL draft evaluation process.

The Bulldogs currently have five players with accepted invitations to compete at the Senior Bowl this year — Tate Ratledge, Jared Wilson, Arian Smith, Tyrone Ingram-Dawkins and Smael Mondon.

“We’ve filled all the running back spots,” Nagy told DawgNation on Wednesday, as surprised as anyone by Etienne reversing course.

Etienne’s agent explained to DawgNation on Wednesday that Etienne’s change of heart had to do with him having already put three years of college football mileage on his body, and the player’s confidence that his game translates to the NFL.

Etienne, not the biggest player at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, suffered shoulder and rib injuries this season playing in the rugged SEC, missing four games on account of them.

Most recently projected as a fourth-round pick, Etienne weighed the risk of further injury against his relatively low draft stock, and determined the NFL his best option.

This, even though Mel Kiper Jr. does not have Etienne projected among his top 10 running back NFL prospects in his most recent ESPN “Big Board” pay site article.

The running back position is among the most closely scrutinized for wear and tear, so Etienne’s age is indeed a factor in the NFL evaluation process.

Beck, like Etienne not in a financially-pressed situation, originally opted to enter the NFL draft after suffering a season-ending elbow (UCL) injury on the final play of the first half of the SEC Championship Game.

A recently published USA Today report indicated both Georgia and Alabama had shown interest in Beck playing for them next season.

That said, a source close to the UGA program told DawgNation on Wednesday that Beck’s parting from Georgia was as much a mutual decision, with the Bulldogs wanting nothing less than Beck’s complete conviction, while holding confidence in rising junior Gunner Stockton.

Beck’s NFL draft stock was “all over the board,” per Nagy, who had interest in inviting Beck to the Senior Bowl from the start of the season when the Georgia quarterback was a projected first-round pick.

Beck ultimately chose to transfer to Miami rather than return to the SEC at Alabama, where he originally committed, or Georgia, where he spent the past five years of his career.

Indeed, Beck’s new NIL deal is reportedly worth more than $4 million, which is on par with the first-year rookie salary (including signing bonus) of a mid-second round pick.

That means Beck will likely earn more money playing for the Miami Hurricanes this season than he would have made as a first-year NFL quarterback, had he been drafted lower than the second round.

To boot, Beck has the opportunity to redeem himself — and his NFL draft status — to a first-round level which pays, at a minimum, more than $13 million on its pre-set guaranteed contract scale, per spotrac.

It’s no consolation for Georgia to know or see the logic in the players’ decisions — losing Beck and Etienne was not optimal.

But it’s the business side of what college football has become, and it certainly makes one understand and appreciate Kirby Smart’s annual roster management challenge.