Unfinished business played a role in Carson Beck's return to Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — After falling short of the College Football Playoff in 2023, Georgia had several players elect to return for one more season with the program. None made more waves than Carson Beck, who decided to come back for a second season as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback.
Beck waited three full years for his shot at the starting job and turned heads as he set the program’s single-season record for completion percentage record while falling just short of becoming the second player in Georgia history to reach 4,000 yards passing. He got better as the year went along, which is a big reason why he had a decision to make when the 2023 season ended with a beatdown of Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Tuesday, the Jacksonville, Fla. native had a chance to speak on that decision for the first time prior to the start of Georgia spring drills and it certainly seems like the Beck feels there is some unfinished business.
“Obviously we had a really good year, I feel like,” Beck said. “Our goal is always to win it all and it should be for every program but we didn’t achieve that goal. Coming back with that same mindset because we didn’t reach that goal. That definitely led to it and the connection piece we have here at Georgia, the relationship I have with the coaches, the relationship I have with the players. It all just came to me making the decision to come back and wanting to do that for another year.”
This spring is much different than last for the fifth-year senior. Beck entered 2023 spring practice with a leg up on the starting job but the competition was open. Brock Vandagriff was vying for the starting quarterback job along with Beck’s current backup, Gunner Stockton.
Vandagriff made a little noise during the five-week period but Beck ended the spring looking like the heavy favorite with a strong showing in the G-Day spring scrimmage. The competition lingered into preseason camp where Beck won out and showed why during the season.
Going into this spring as the starter has a different feel to it. Instead of competing against teammates for the job, Beck feels like he’ll be competing against himself. He has 14 games worth of film to harken back to when it comes to improving his game. He has done that already and wants to better himself in terms of confidence, processing speed, and decision making.
He’s also set to play the most important position for the team that most, if not all, prognosticators view as the nation’s No. 1 team going into the 2024 season. That’s no small burden but Beck has seen Stetson Bennett shoulder it and he sets the bar high for himself, too.
“It would mean everything to me,” Beck said of bringing a third title to Georgia in four years. “That’s always been my goal individually as a player and it’s always a team goal.”
