Carson Beck assesses play in first career start

ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck made his first career start for Georgia on Saturday, and the stats would have you believing everybody would be happy with his day in a 48-7 win over UT-Martin. The Jacksonville, Fla. native threw for 294 yards on 21-of-31 passing with two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).

Regardless of what he did, Beck was going to be the talking point out of Saturday’s season-opener in his starting debut, and that certainly was true.

“I was very proud of Carson in his first start. I thought he had great composure,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said in his postgame press conference. “Really that was the epitome of every scrimmage he had. He threw the ball away when he had to, he hit spots when he had to, he made good decisions, he didn’t put us at risk, he made good checks. He did some really good things, and I’m proud of him. We’ve got to get some more help around him with weapons, get some guys healthy, but I’m proud of what he did.”

Beck’s day came without two of Georgia’s top wide receivers available. Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, both of whom finished top five on the team last season, were sidelined for the entirety of the game, McConkey with a back injury and Rosemy-Jacksaint for disciplinary reasons. Getting them back will be big for the future, as Smart said, but Beck didn’t care who was beside him Saturday. He was simply excited for the opportunity to be a starter once again.

“It felt good. I was excited to be out there. You know, it’s been awhile since I’ve started. I thought we played well. It took a second to settle in, but I was super excited to be out there,” Beck said. “Of course I had nerves. It’s been awhile since I’ve been out there and played, even since last season. I mean, the last time we took the field was in January. So it’s been a lot of months, put in a lot of work and I was super excited to be out there.”

Beck said it wasn’t until the second quarter that he felt entirely comfortable. That showed some in his performance, going three-and-out on two of three first quarter drives. He missed an open Arian Smith on his fourth pass attempt and finished the first quarter 5-for-9 for just 30 yards.

However, the second quarter saw him go 9-for-13 for 104 yards including a two-minute drill that got off to a strong start with Georgia getting down to the UT-Martin 3-yard-line before ending in just a field goal.

“It took a little transition period,” Beck said. “Just working through some things. Shoot, it’s our first game. There’s going to be a few bumps in the road. In the second quarter, I think as a full offense we settled in.”

While Beck said it was in the second quarter he felt the offense settled in, it was in the third that they really started clicking. After being forced to punt on their first possession of the second half – a drive in which it looked like Georgia was going to go for it on 4th and 1 before a false start penalty – Beck guided a pair of touchdown drives before handing the offense over to Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton. Both backups guided a scoring drive late – a 21-yard touchdown throw for Vandagriff and a field goal for Stockton after getting the Bulldogs into the red zone.

What’s next for Beck? Well, as his head coach said, now comes the feedback. Fans will have their opinions – good or bad – and it’s his job to block that noise out. The important stuff for him will come from his coaches.

“I think in every area I could improve,” Beck said. “We didn’t do the best at third downs, third downs for sure. And then obviously like I said, it’s our first game. We’re going to have bumps in the road. There’s a lot of things that can be improved … Every area. There’s so many areas to improve, especially from my first start and as an entire offense. We’re going to come together, look at different intricacies and be the best that we can be.”

“I think just the feel of the game,” he added on what the biggest thing he was trying to accomplish in his first start. “In practice we don’t get hit, so understanding when I can move, when I can run, when to extend the play, when not to extend the play and just throw it away if something’s not there. You know, just getting a feel for the game again.”