Carson Beck tabbed as nation's top returning quarterback
Carson Beck was one of the top quarterbacks in the country in 2023, and returning for 2024, nothing less is expected of him. In fact, as a second-year starter, the bar has been set even higher for the Bulldogs’ signal caller.
Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus shared that he sees Beck as the top returning quarterback in all of College Football. Listed above others including Dillon Gabriel, Quinn Ewers, Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe, it’s an expectation that if met, should have Georgia contending for a third National Championship in four seasons.
“It’s rare for a program to lose a two-time national champion quarterback and improve under center, but that’s precisely what Georgia did by going from Stetson Bennett to Carson Beck,” Chadwick wrote. “While the redshirt junior didn’t win a ring in 2023, he finished as the fourth-most valuable quarterback in the nation according to PFF’s wins above average metric. The three above him were all Heisman finalists who are now heading to the NFL (Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. and Jayden Daniels). Beck’s 91.5 overall PFF grade and 90.8 PFF passing grade were also fourth among FBS signal-callers.”
“Beck’s a supremely accurate quarterback with precise timing,” he continued. “His 80.6% adjusted completion rate ranked third in the country this past season while his 2.39-second average time to throw was the fifth-fastest. He doesn’t add much on the ground and is just average under pressure, but it’s difficult to find a better pure passer than Beck in the college game right now.”
Beck put up nearly 4,000 yards (3,941) in 14 games, good for third in the country. He did so with a school-record 72.4% completion rate. As a result, Georgia ranked first in the country in third-down offense and No. 5 for both scoring and total offense.
Entering the spring as a starter this go around, Beck is the co-favorite for the Heisman Trophy according to FanDuel. He’s in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after passing up a potential first-round selection this spring, and the Bulldogs are the consensus top-ranked team in the Way-Too-Early polls, in large part due to Beck’s presence. Needless to say, expectations are high for him.
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Beck, known for his even-keeled nature, shared his take on the return and the increased pressure that’s on him in a recent interview with former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray.
“I think the biggest thing for me was kind of looking back at the season and realizing how much fun I had,” Beck said. “Like, I hadn’t gotten to play in so long, to be able to get the opportunity to go out and play the game I love again, I mean, you never know what’s gonna happen if you do leave and you do make that decision to go to the draft and do all those things. When I looked back at the season, I had so much fun, I was like, what do I have to lose, you know? Come back and do it all over again.”
“It’s definitely different for me, coming back and knowing at this point in January that I’m going to be the starter,” he added. “Last year I didn’t know I was going to start until two weeks before the season. It was a battle. Now this season, going into it knowing I’m going to be the guy, how do I work even harder than I ever have before and how do I still maintain that hunger, even coming off of a season that I thought I did well.”
Georgia will begin spring practice in just over a month as the Bulldogs are expected to get underway following the University’s spring break. Kirby Smart and his staff will have 15 sessions to work with the team to begin preparations for the 2024 season including three scrimmages – the final of which is open to the public on G-Day for the annual spring game. Dates and times are still to be announced.
