Ladd McConkey sets bar high for Carson Beck, Georgia football in 2024
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Georgia made some history in 2023 but not as much as it wanted to. The Bulldogs extended their win streak to 29 games, setting an SEC record, but they could not become the first team in the double-digit-game era to win a third straight National Championship. Those dreams were shattered when they lost to Alabama in the 2024 SEC Championship game.
When it comes to expectations, nothing changes for 2024. The Bulldogs are the consensus No. 1 team among the way-too-early prognostications due in large part to the return of Carson Beck. A guy who caught passes from Beck last year, Ladd McConkey, is currently at the NFL Combine where he was asked about Beck and his pro prospects next year and the Georgia pass catcher did not set the bar low.
“He’s a playmaker for sure,” McConkey said of Beck on Friday. “He’s going to be a top draft pick next year. I think he could have been this year as well. For him to go back, I know he’s going to have a huge year. I know he’s focused on that, leading them to another National Championship so I’m super excited about him and the rest of the team.”
Beck started all 14 games and broke the school’s single-season completion percentage record 72.4. He fell just 187 yards short in one and a half less games of Stetson Bennett’s school record for most passing yards in a season. The Jacksonville, Fla. native got off to a slow start but by season’s end, he was viewed as the straw that stirs the drink in that Georgia offense, especially when you consider how many pieces were missing.
Brock Bowers missed significant time in the second half of the year. McConkey missed the first four games and two more late in the year. Rara Thomas also missed the final three games of the year. Georgia fell short of its ultimate goal but Beck was a big reason the Bulldogs were able to hold it together despite all the injuries.
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An emerging play-maker at Georgia?
Bowers, McConkey, Kendall Milton, Daijun Edwards, and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint are all on their way out. Beck is going to need some guys to step up and provide depth and play-making ability in that Georgia passing game. Rosemy-Jacksaint has a pretty strong knowledge of what the Bulldogs are bringing back in that regard and he’s fired up about a rising sophomore.
“Anthony Evans definitely going to be one of the guys to look out for,” Rosemy-Jacksaint told reporters on Friday. “Just his speed and his ability to win one-on-one, he’s going to be a problem once he gets comfortable and gets that swag in him.”
Evans caught his first career touchdown in the Capitol One Orange Bowl win over Florida State, a game where Georgia broke another record with a 60-point win, the largest in bowl-game history. He did that a few weeks after gashing Alabama for a 25-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to help Georgia get back in that game.
