Carson Beck reflects on returning to SEC Championship after injury: 'I probably shouldn't have even had pads on'

Carson Beck shouldn’t have even been on the field for his final play ever in a Georgia uniform. After suffering a severe UCL injury on the last play of the first half of the SEC Championship, Beck sat the entire second half.

However, after backup QB Gunner Stockton had his helmet knocked off in overtime, he was forced to exit the game. Trailing 19-16 and on the 4-yard line, Georgia turned to Beck on the sideline. Despite barely being able to move his right arm, Beck entered the game, handed off the ball and boosted the Bulldogs to victory.

Beck ultimately required surgery for his injury and transferred to Miami during the offseason. Alas, he’ll never forget the wild turn of events that led to him delivering the game-winning handoff against the Texas Longhorns.

“First off, it was a crazy thing because I probably shouldn’t have even had pads on still,” Beck said at the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff. “We’re sitting there on the sidelines, I have an earpiece, and I’m sitting there with an earpiece, listening to the plays, like trying to dissect what the defense was trying to do because maybe they’ll switch it up a little bit with a different quarterback in there.

“So I have the earpiece on and Gunner gets knocked down right, and he’s coming off the field, and Coach Smart is yelling. He’s like, ‘Carson! Carson!’ He’s like yelling for me, and thank God my helmet was on the sideline. He’s like, ‘Can you take a snap? And I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’ll try.’

“I can take a snap and hand it off. So they give me the play call and I’m running out on the field, and I’m thinking to myself, I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m gonna have to hand this off with my right arm.’ I’m really hoping that I get this done. So anyways, I go into the huddle and everybody looks at me like, ‘What the hell are you doing in the game? You’ve been out.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Can you can we get this done right here and now? Get this thing in the end zone.'”

Georgia did just that on the following play, and secure a top-four seed and a bye in the College Football Playoff. Now, Carson Beck will look to lead Miami to similar success in the upcoming season.