Carson Beck did something unusual when he arrived Georgia in 2020 – he waited. When an inconsistent backup named Stetson Bennett IV won the starting job, he waited. When Bennett unexpectedly chose to return for another year of eligibility, he waited. When the NIL deals and transfer portal beckoned, he waited.
Beck was ranked as the No. 13 quarterback in the class of 2020. Eight of the 12 players ranked ahead of him transferred out of their programs before Beck took over as the full-time starter. Two inverted positions to enter the field. The others? Bryce Young and CJ Stroud. Quarterbacks just don’t wait their turn anymore, but Beck did. He did everything correctly. He did well to Georgia.
After five years on campus and two years as a starter, Beck is ready to enter the transfer portal. He first declared himself for NFL Draftbut was lured back to the college game. Miami this seems like a reasonable destinationalthough Beck would have to go through a full process. The Bulldogs lost three games for the first time since 2018.
According to CBS Sports, Georgia was upset with the way Beck performed after suffering a season-ending elbow injury.spend time away from the team while consulting outside medical advice. The program received only brief notice before it chose to access the portal. He arrived in New Orleans after the rest of the team.
During the offseason, Beck made headlines after purchasing an expensive Lamborghini Urus Performante and for dating Hanna Cavinder, TikToker and women’s basketball player from Miami. It seems the trappings of his fame have become a distraction, whether for Beck or in the Georgia locker room. Beck’s excess seems to be at the origin of much of the fan frustration following his departure.
Maybe something has changed for Beck with the newfound money and profile. Or maybe they just became a convenient way to scapegoat him for larger shortcomings in Georgia.
Beck took over the starting quarterback job at Georgia after two national championships. His predecessor, Bennett, will go down as perhaps the most beloved ‘Dawg in program history after rising from backup to Heisman finalist. Still, there was optimism that Beck could bring something different to the passing game as a serious player. NFL perspective, even after offensive coordinator Todd Monken left for the NFL.
(Monken went on to lead one of the NFL’s most potent offenses with the Baltimore Ravens after leaving Georgia. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart replaced him with retread Mike Bobo. Keep an eye out this trend).
In Beck’s first season, he had nearly 4,000 yards and a 13-1 record. The passing offense has taken a step forward in production and efficiency. If there wasn’t a monster shown by the quarterback by that of Alabama Jalen Milroe in the SEC championship game, the Bulldogs very well could have won another national championship.
Top target Brock Bowers was selected in the first round. Receiver Ladd McConkey went in the second round. Both had 1,000-yard seasons as NFL rookies, ranking among only four rookies to reach the target. There were supposed successors to the players on the roster, but none came forward.
Even after last season, Beck could have entered the NFL draft and had a good chance of being selected in the first round. Sure, he was certainly well paid to come back, but he was as committed to Georgia as any player who has come through the program in recent seasons.
“To come back and try to win a championship with these guys and this team is very important to me,” Beck said last year. “I know it’s so cliché and it’s what I’m supposed to say, but I really believe it.”
Without his best weapons, Beck’s second year was clearly worse. His completion percentage dropped from 72% to 64%, his yards per attempt increased from 9.5 to 7.8, and his interceptions doubled from six to 12. Georgia lost several regular season games to the first time since 2020. While the Bulldogs ultimately won the SEC, it happened after Beck injured his elbow. Without Beck in the lineup, Georgia’s season ended with a 23–10 loss to Notre Dame, matching the program’s worst score since 2015.
To be clear, Georgia has every right to be ready to move on from Beck after two solid seasons. Backup Gunner Stocktona cheaper commodity than Beck, surely showed real fight in a 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Some of the same issues reappeared as well, including a running game that averaged 2.1 yards per carry and a receiving room that dropped several passes.
Whether Beck is a problem child or an easy target, Georgia’s atrophy runs much deeper than QB1.
Take a trip down memory lane for a moment. Of 22 starters listed for Georgia on the 2021 national championship team, 21 were drafted. The only exception? Guard Tate Ratledgewho will be drafted in 2025 after a first season on the All-America team. More defensive players were drafted in the first round (6) than not (5).
Among the offensive talents, Bowers, McConkey, James Cook and Adonai Mitchell, who finished their careers at Texas, were taken in the first two rounds. Jermaine Burton (transferred to Alabama after the game) was chosen third and Zamir White was chosen fourth. Perhaps the biggest sin of Georgia expectations is that we still don’t appreciate how ridiculously talented both national champion teams were. Georgia played with an NFL wide receiver corps for three seasons. In 2024, the Georgian offensive was nothing like that.
Tight end Oscar Delp was the only passer ranked even in the CBS Sports top 150 NFL Draft Outlook. There are no serious NFL prospects at wide receiver. Georgia lost 5.6% of Beck’s passes in 2023. That increased to 9.4% in 2024. His pass-catching corps led the nation in decline. According to football analyst Clark Brooks, Beck had 665 yards gained. — meaning Beck would have thrown for 665 more yards if his receivers hadn’t dropped their passes. This is the highest falls total since Brooks has kept the statistic.
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Running backs Nate Frazier And Trevor Etienne are solid pieces, but the rushing offense ranked No. 102 nationally, a disastrous ranking. Additionally, the running game schemes are borderline archaic, especially compared to the diversity that exists. Georgia Tech brought to the table in the eight-overtime game.
Beck is not a perfect quarterback. He turned the ball over too much. His rate of pressure to fire increased significantly during his sophomore season, a sign that he did not handle pressure well. Even with a lackluster group of receivers, Beck didn’t always elevate the unit. For this reason, it is smart to consider another year of college football grow as a player, especially as he rehabs his elbow injury in the spring.
And while Beck hasn’t identified a destination, the beaches of Coral Gables will be calling his name. Miami helped become mid-major draft prospect Cam Room into a Heisman Trophy candidate and potential No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft after starring in a quarterback-friendly, talent-filled offense. Beck has the skill set to similarly thrive with the Hurricanes.
Georgia has yet to look toward the transfer gateSo Stockton will be the early favorite to start at quarterback next season. Third channel Jaden Rashada entered the transfer portal looking for his third school in three years, a perfect contrast to Beck’s stability.
Over the past four years, Georgia has continued to attract elite talent and generate success. Smart’s program has won 53 games over the past four seasons, including three straight undefeated SEC records. Talented players will be lining up to replace Beck, if the Bulldogs choose to court them.
But for five years, Beck did everything right at the University of Georgia. He gave the program more than enough to win. Even on the most talented roster in college football, there’s no guarantee that better is on the horizon.
MORE: Inside Carson Beck’s final weeks in Georgia, marked by quiet tension