A year ago at this time, many were wondering how Georgia would stomach the loss of two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett IV. The hope, of course, was that Carson Beck would emerge as a bona fide option.
Not only did that happen, but Beck might have even been better than Bennett in some respects. It didn’t happen all at once, though.
The good news for Georgia, though, is that that Beck is now a seasoned veteran and he’s got plenty of valuable experience to lean back on as he enters 2024 and seeks a College Football Playoff return for the Bulldogs.
“I think everything’s different as far as just the approach,” Beck told On3’s Shea Dixon at the Manning Passing Academy on Friday. “Last season I was battling for a job, this year I’m coming in as the starter. So I’m more, obviously last year I was team-oriented, team-focused as well, but there was a lot of like individual want as well. I wanted to be the starter, so there was a lot of individual focus.”
How did that manifest, exactly? Well, Carson Beck wasn’t always as attentive to his teammates as he should have been, by his own admission. And it’s a completely understandable position to find himself in.
Consider this: You’re taking over as a first-time starter and your team is coming off back-to-back national titles. You’re charged with keeping things running and getting back there for a potential three-peat, the likes of which has never been pulled off in modern college football.
That’s a whole lot of pressure.
Now, though, Beck is ready to lead from a different angle. He’s got the individual side mostly figured out, so now he can spend time on other elements.
“This year it’s very team-oriented, so it’s very much like how can I help the wide receivers, how can I help the running backs, how can I help the tight ends?” Carson Beck said. “How can I make the offense better? So I think that would be the biggest difference as far as my mindset is just on the team overall.”
Then there’s the fact that he’s just a different quarterback than he was a year ago. He went from having 586 career passing yards to a season with 3,941. He threw for 24 touchdowns with only six interceptions.
Confidence has ballooned.
“Absolutely. I think every game that went by my confidence went up and up and up,” Carson Beck said. “You compare the first game to the last one it’s not even the same quarterback on the field. I go watch the first three games, try to go watch film on it and it’s like I laugh at myself, like what am I doing? Yeah, I think the confidence level is completely different. I think I’ve changed and developed as a quarterback, as well, through that season.”
Excited yet, Georgia fans? You should be. There’s a whole lot to like about what a new-and-improved Carson Beck could mean going forward.
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