Kirby Smart dismisses concerns about Carson Beck's recent play

Georgia heads into a rivalry game this Saturday against Florida fresh off of a bye week that was proceeded by one of the most impressive wins across the country — a 30-15 road victory against a then-No. 1 Texas.

The Bulldogs secured that signature win and several other victories this season with quarterback Carson Beck seemingly not playing at the top of his game. But head coach Kirby Smart will not answer the question of what’s wrong with Carson Beck.

“I don’t answer it, because I don’t think anything’s wrong with him,” Smart said this week. “He hasn’t played perfect, but nobody does. So I’m very comfortable with where Carson is and in terms of his leadership, his practice habits, the things we’re asking him to do, I think he’s doing a good job of those.”

Beck entered the season as the consensus top quarterback in the country, an opinion that’s changed this season with his on-field production taking a bit of a dip. Beck has completed just 66% of his passes after ranking fourth in the nation in completion percentage last season, and has thrown eight interceptions already this season after throwing just six in 2023.

Beck has been his own biggest critic, admitting that he needs to play better following Georgia’s last game where he threw three interceptions. It’s that accountability that Smart expects his signal caller to take while also expecting more from those surrounding him.

“I think he’s going to own that regardless, if you ask a kid that, they’re going to say that,” Smart said. “He does need to play better, we need to coach better, we need to execute better, we need people around him to play better. That’s the ownership that a quarterback takes, and I wouldn’t expect him to answer any questions like that any other way.”

Beck will look to bounce back this weekend in his home town of Jacksonville when the Bulldogs kick off against Florida at 3:30 p.m. ET in a rivalry game airing on ABC and streaming on Fubo.