Carson Beck: Heisman is '100 percent a team trophy'

Carson Beck knows he is nothing without his teammates. On Saturday, the starting Georgia quarterback revealed his humble perspective on the Heisman Trophy.

“It’s 100% a team trophy,” Beck said. “As a quarterback, my success is very much dependent on the offensive line. It’s very much dependent on how our running backs play. It’s very much dependent on if our defense can get stops. It’s very much dependent on if our wide receivers can go make contested catches. Get open.

“At the end of the day, it is very much a team-oriented goal. But, obviously, it’s not my main goal. But, if I was able to get there, obviously it’d be a dream come true.”

Despite Beck’s humility, the 6-foot-4 senior has an excellent chance of capturing the coveted honor in the 2024 campaign. In his first season as Georgia’s starter last year, Beck tallied 3,941 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while only throwing six interceptions.

His 3,941 passing yards were the third-most in the country and led the SEC. Moreover, Beck completed an extremely efficient 72.4% of his pass attempts, ranking No. 4 in the nation.

For his efforts, he was named a Coaches All-SEC Second Team selection and was a finalist for the Manning Award. Evidently, oddsmakers expect Beck to add to his hardware in the upcoming season.

According to FanDuel, Beck is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in the 2024 season, followed closely by Texas‘ Quinn Ewers and Oregon‘s Dillon Gabriel. Of course, Heisman winners are more than fantastic players. They’re leaders, too.

Kirby Smart expects Carson Beck to be a leader this season

Now that Beck has a starting campaign under his belt, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart expects the QB1’s leadership to take a step forward this year.

“He was in complete command of it (last year), but there were times I think he knows that he could say, ‘You know what, I can step up and be a bigger voice and a bigger leader,’” Smart said at SEC Spring Meetings. “We had a lot of veteran players on that offense that had played a lot more than him. Now we don’t. He is the veteran that has played the most and has the most command. He’ll do a good job doing that.”

Beck’s leadership will immediately be put to the test in the upcoming season. Georgia will square off against Clemson in its season opener on Aug. 31 at noon ET. The game will be broadcast on ABC.