Carson Beck keeps poise for strong performance in emotional return to hometown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Carson Beck has been waiting for Saturday for quite some time. A native of Jacksonville who starred at Mandarin High School about 20 minutes away from EverBank Stadium, it’s been a long two weeks between games because this one is one he’s waited on for years and years.

“I’ve been waiting for this for four years, since the second I got here. Honestly, since before that,” Beck told reporters after the game. “I thought that one day I’d play in this game. That’s obviously lofty goals and dreams that I had when I was younger. To come out here and do that, execute like that as a team and get a win against our biggest rival, it’s a huge moment for us.”

Beck capitalized on the momentum, throwing for over 300 yards for the fourth time in five games. While his 19 completions of 28 attempts (67.9%) was fewest of any outing this season, his 315 yards was third-most – and most away from Sanford Stadium.

Beck admitted that he was emotional over this one. It was clear all week that this one was different. In the pregame, he even differed from his typical quieter self to tell the offense about how long he had been waiting to play in this one and how excited he was to do so.

“It feels good,” Beck said, after starting the statement with an expletive to show just how much this game meant to him. “I was very emotional before the game. I’m usually not like that, but I was trying to take it all in, soak it all in. Before the game I told the offense, ‘Look, I’ve been waiting four years to play in this game, ever since the day I got here.’ Being from Florida, from Jacksonville, obviously a super exciting moment, but it makes it even better to come out here and get a win like that.”

Beck said he was good once the game got underway. That showed as he helped Georgia respond to an early 7-0 deficit. The Bulldogs put points on the board in each of their first four drives. After a field goal on the first drive, Georgia’s first touchdown came by way of Beck to Ladd McConkey from 41 yards out.

Then, in the second half, there were three more in a row including a third-down touchdown pass from Beck to Dillon Bell. Kirby Smart singled out both plays in his postgame press conference.

“Carson was able to make good decisions. The play to Dillon Bell was probably the back breaker,” Smart said. “Really incredible he was able to make that throw. They were in good coverage for it, Dillon beat his guy, Carson made a great throw and Dillon made a great catch. The protection was there too.”

“I don’t worry about Carson. Apparently you guys do. But I don’t worry about Carson. He’s very confident, he’s very calm, he understands football, he’s never too high, never too low. He studies really hard. He texts questions all week. He studies and meets with Coach Bobo. He puts a plan together and he makes good decisions. He’s continued to improve by not putting us in bad situations,” he continued. “There are things that are not on the stat sheet that I don’t have time to explain, but he does an elite job with run checks, looks, puts in the best play, the decision to throw the RPO or hand the ball off. There’s not really a value you can put on that. I know as a defensive coordinator there’s  nothing worse than feeling you have the right call, then he moves the back, he moves the tight end and you got a bad call. That’s tough.”

Beck’s big game in his hometown is the product of the time he spent in Georgia’s system waiting his turn. Smart believes that it’s the reps that he got against the first team defense last year and the intent with which Georgia develops its second and third teams that’s made for such a smooth transition this season.

“Carson’s commitment to getting better,” Smart said when asked for the biggest key to Beck’s development without in-game opportunities. “He had really good coaching. He played in a really good system and was around really good players and he watched them. I honestly think the reps we dedicate to our 2s and 3s all year round make it easier for us to transition to next year. I felt great about Carson coming into the season because of the work he had had. We made him go out and go against the one defense. He played against good teams.”

Beck isn’t the type to take the credit. Instead, he’ll throw it right back on the offensive line, receivers and running backs that surround him on a down to down basis. However, there’s no doubt he’s the center piece to it all.

Beck and the Bulldogs have a big one upcoming. Ranked No. 1 by both the AP and Coaches, Georgia welcomes No. 16 Missouri into Athens on Saturday with the top spot in the SEC East up for grabs.

Last year, the Tigers gave Georgia trouble in Columbia. The Bulldogs came from behind to escape with a 26-22 victory. This year, they’re not catching anyone off guard at 7-1 on the season.

Kickoff time for Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. With a win, Georgia would put itself in a position to clinch the Eastern Division and a spot in the SEC Championship Game the next week against Ole Miss. A loss on the other hand would leave them in need of Missouri to fall in one of its final three games, taking on Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas.