Kirby Smart notes Carson Beck return 'sets the tone' for UGA in 2024

The Georgia football program got huge news in the last week when starting quarterback Carson Beck announced his return to the program.

In his first public appearance since that news, Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared just how big a deal that news is for his program as it looks to get back to the College Football Playoff in 2024.

“That’s an example that sets the tone,” Smart said on SEC Now on Wednesday. “He watched a lot of quarterbacks before him go through a lot of things, and he’s a leader in that meeting room. He’s a leader on that field. To have him back, it just creates a lot of confidence and energy for our team.”

Carson Beck finished the 2023 regular season with really impressive numbers, numbers that put him on the fringe of Heisman Trophy contention.

The redshirt junior finished with 3,738 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, against just six interceptions. He also added four rushing touchdowns.

If Beck can continue building on that going forward into 2024, the Georgia program will remain in great shape. Smart broke down one way the Beck return will tangibly impact the program.

“A lot of the guys around him on offense have more confidence because he’s coming back,” Smart said. “And the defensive players know we’re going to have the ability to score points and be explosive. When you have an experienced quarterback it drives your offense, and we’re lucky to have him back.”

Georgia setting Beck up to succeed

One way that Georgia is building things to make life easier on Carson Beck next fall is by assembling a bulldozing unit in the trenches.

Smart explained his process of building the offensive line.

“I think it’s the key to success, you know,” Smart said. “The offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage are critical. You can’t win football games without big people and that’s proven year-in and year-out with the size of the teams that win national championships.”

Obviously, Georgia’s two title-winning squads were quite beefy up front on both sides, especially defensively. Those were home-grown guys, too, not portal pickups. Smart’s pretty adamant that you simply don’t find many elite linemen on either side of the ball in the transfer portal, so you have to prioritize the recruitment and development of them.

“It’s hard to get those size guys out of the portal. When you look across the portal, it’s really hard to find offensive and defensive linemen. So I think you have to grow and develop them. The key is, No. 1, finding them. The next thing is keeping them, because sometimes they are positions that take a while to play. So you just have to understand it takes a little bit.”

Bottom line: Georgia will once again be poised to make a run at it all thanks to the return of Carson Beck and several key pieces in the trenches.

On3’s Alex Weber also contributed to this report.