Carson Beck notches first touchdown as starter with 4-yard rush vs. UT-Martin

For the first time as Georgia’s starting quarterback, Carson Beck found the end zone. He ran in a four-yard touchdown against UT-Martin to extend the Bulldogs’ lead in the second quarter on Saturday.

It marked Beck’s first career rushing touchdown as he begins his third year at Georgia. He also has six career passing touchdowns to his name, including four last season as he backed up Stetson Bennett.

As he made his first start in a Bulldogs uniform, Beck started out by completing 9 of 15 passes for 67 yards as Georgia took a 14-0 lead on his touchdown.

Beck with a little shimmy to the 🏠

Watch live on SEC Network+#GoDawgs | @carsonbeck01 pic.twitter.com/te5qSn1KFR

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 2, 2023

Beck beat out Brock Vandagriff to become Georgia’s starting quarterback after Bennett ran out of eligibility and headed to the NFL. It was a close competition throughout the spring and into camp, but Beck ultimately won over Kirby Smart and the coaching staff as he got first reps on Saturday.

“Carson is a very even-keeled individual. He’s been that way since we recruited him, all the way back to his eleventh-grade year,” Smart said after naming Beck the starter. “He’s not a highs and lows, he’s not a real emotional guy, he’s not a real fiery guy. He’s very laid back. He understands his job, he’s very intelligent. But he’s — you know, every leader has their own way. He certainly commands the room. I think the players around him understand how bright he is. They trust him.

“And Carson’s had a lot of reps, a lot of work, they just haven’t all been game reps. So he’s had a huge mass of reps, against a good defense. A really good defense, in ours. But his leadership method’s kind of still being developed. No different than Gunner [Stockton] and Brock [Vandagriff] . Each one have different ways about them, and that’s true with the guy that just left too (Stetson Bennett).”

Carson Beck: Being named the starter hasn’t changed my approach

Beck also reflected on the conversation he had with Smart when he got the starting job, but noted he’s not changing his mindset at all. He’s focused on the task at hand, which is trying to engineer a three-peat.

“The conversation was just very simple, it was straightforward,” Beck said. “He told us all what was going to happen, and I don’t think it changed much, at least in my mindset. I think we’ve all performed really well during fall camp.

“But it is good to like know that you’re the guy, but it hasn’t changed my approach towards practice, or my approach towards watching film or anything of that sort, so it’s all maintain the same.”