Carson Beck injury update: Status revealed for 2nd half of SEC Championship

Carson Beck has been ruled out for the second half of the SEC Championship against Texas, Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ABC’s Holly Rowe. He suffered an apparent arm injury just before halftime, and Gunner Stockton will take over the rest of the way.

“Kirby Smart has told me that Carson Beck will be unable to return to this game,” Rowe said out of halftime. “They are not going to talk about the hand injury right now because they don’t know exactly what it is.”

Beck went to make one final throw before the break, but got hit as he threw. As the Longhorns and Bulldogs scrambled for the ball behind him, Beck stayed on the ground, holding his right arm.

Smart said the staff would evaluate things in the halftime locker room, but expressed optimism his quarterback would be able to give it a go out of the break. However, Beck can’t go back into the game, which means it’s Stockton’s show.

Stockton is a redshirt sophomore at Georgia and has appeared in three games this season. However, none of those appearances came against SEC opponents, making it quite a task as UGA takes on Texas with an SEC title on the line.

Stockton is a former four-star recruit and was the No. 149 overall player from the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. A Tiger (Ga.) Rabun County product, he stayed close to home to play for Georgia – and the fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium know his background quite well.

“Gunner Stockton, you hear the cheers from these Georgia fans,” Rowe said. “This is a kid who set the all-time high school state record for yards. He is one of the most dynamic kids this state has ever seen. … He is someone they believe in. They’ve all been hyping him over here up on the sideline, getting ready for this big opportunity.”

Stockton was impressive on his first drive after taking over for Beck. He completed three of his four passes for 34 yards – including a highlight-reel pass to Lawson Luckie – and engineered a scoring drive. Trevor Etienne found the end zone for the first touchdown of the game to give Georgia a 10-6 lead.