Patience pays off for Carson Beck in pursuit of starting spot

ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck has waited his turn. As the only blue-chip quarterback from the Class of 2020 that has neither started a game or transferred from their original school, the Jacksonville, Fla. native is a rarity in today’s day in age of College Football. Beck knows that, but it doesn’t bother him because his patience is about to pay off come next Saturday when he trots onto the field at Sanford Stadium as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

“It means a lot. I’ve put in a lot of time, work, effort. I’ve been grinding the past four years and to finally see that come into fruition and pay off, it’s a really exciting time,” Beck said on Wednesday in his first meeting with media since being named Georgia’s starting quarterback.

When he takes the field against UT-Martin on September 2nd, it will have been 1,394 days since his last start in high school, November 8th, 2019 against Seminole in the first round of the Florida Class 8A state playoffs. Still, Beck says he feels prepared for the moment.

“I guess without getting a lot of reps the biggest thing becomes the mental side. As hard as it was and as hard as it can be to be the backup but still prepare like you’re the starter, like you’re going to go out there, it’s something I tried to do week in and week out no matter the opponent,” Beck said. “My mental is already kind of set, so I know what that looks like to prepare as a starter even though I haven’t obviously started yet.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart agrees that Beck has grown. He’s seen it happen over the course of four years. It’s a product of the way the Bulldogs have handled their quarterbacks – and entire team – over the years, making sure everybody gets reps in practice to continue along with their individual development.

“We don’t try to manage the players or manage that. We coach them, and we tell them by choosing to come here, we’re going to coach you. We’re going to coach you and give you reps, and nothing that we told Carson, Gunner (Stockton) or Brock (Vandagriff), is not the case. We’re going to develop you, we’re going to give you lots of reps and we’re going to guarantee you more reps here than we think you’re going to get anywhere else, meaningful reps in terms of competitive, third-down situations, challenging you,” Smart said.

“What you want to become as a quarterback and what we emulate in the NFL, they’re going to learn that,” he continued. “Carson’s seen that. He’s seen that every year. He’s been as close as there is to starting then as far away as No. 2 or No. 3 at times. This morning, he’s the guy who gives us the best chance. I know he’s embracing it. But I don’t think he’s looking backwards saying ‘Ok, should I stay? Should I go?’ I just think he’s been where his feet are, and he’s really grown as a player and has had some really good quarterback coaches to work with him.”

Along with the quarterback coaches he’s had to learn from, Beck has also been able to watch strong quarterback play during his time in Athens. Acting as the backup to Stetson Bennett, Beck says he knows the criticism that can come with being a starter, but also that he has seen how best to handle that.

“He got it the worst at quarterback. A lot of people really hated on him a lot. You can see that all over the internet. He just maintained and kept his head down, kept going,” Beck said of Bennett. “I’d say that’s the biggest thing I learned from him. You just have to do you, be you and honestly, it doesn’t really matter about the noise going on around you as long as you control your actions and effort towards the game.”

What Beck will look like as QB1 remains to be seen. What he’s looked like as a backup, that we know. In seven appearances last season, Beck threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns on 26-of-35 passing. That included impressive days in extended action against the likes of Oregon, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. He also played the majority of the fourth quarterback against TCU in the National Championship Game.

Beck has also impressed over the years during the G-Day spring game averaging 247 yards on 64.56% passing in three showings. This past spring, Beck went 13-for-18 for 211 yards and a touchdown in the first half while working with the first-team offense.

So, for Beck, the moment has come. Only time will tell how he fares as Georgia’s starting quarterback, but he certainly feels both ready and excited to show what he’s capable of doing.

“This whole entire year I’ve been working for it, grinding for it, and I kind of expected that for myself. But to actually hear it go live, it meant a lot to me. It’s something to see all the hard work pay off,” Beck said. “Like I’ve been saying this whole time, sometimes it’s hard to be patient in a world where everything’s so immediate with social media and the internet. Everybody wants stuff now, but seeing that patience pay off hit home for me … It has been a long time, I felt like it’s been even longer than it actually has been. It’s been almost four years since I started in a football game. Obviously I’m really excited so I’m looking forward to it.”