Georgia has named a starting quarterback for the 2023 season.
Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart announced Saturday that Carson Beck will be the team’s starter when the season opens on Sept. 2. Beck replaces Stetson Bennett, the former walk-on who helped Georgia win back-to-back national championships before being selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.
Georgia had its second scrimmage of preseason practice on Saturday and Beck worked with the first-team offense. Smart told reporters that the quarterback group — Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton — was informed earlier in the week that Beck would top the depth chart.
“Carson Beck is going to be our starting quarterback. He’s done the best job,” Smart said. “Carson is ahead of the other guys in terms of what he understands about the offense.”
Beck is in his fourth season at Georgia and was Bennett’s backup last season. He appeared in seven games last fall, completing 26 of 35 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Smart said Beck’s experience and comfort in the offense helped separate him from the others.
“That’s the greatest separator in the quarterbacks, it’s the comfort level with the offense and having the extra spring and extra fall that those two guys don’t have,” Smart said. “Carson is very knowledgeable, very intelligent, one of the smartest quarterbacks I’ve been around when it comes to handling the volume of offense, and what we want him to do.”
A redshirt junior, Beck has appeared in 11 games since arriving on campus in the class of 2020. In all, he has thrown for 486 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions.
Georgia’s roster is so loaded with talent that a strong emphasis was placed on overall command of the offense and simply getting the ball to play-makers. Though offensive coordinator Todd Monken left for the NFL, the offense isn’t expected to change much with Mike Bobo now in place as the OC.
Beck knows the system and has been around the team’s returning skill talent like Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton. The Bulldogs also have a stellar offensive line. As long as Beck makes the plays needed in high-leverage situations — particularly in the red zone and on third downs — he will be in a position to help lead UGA to a third consecutive national title.
Beck will also benefit from an easy early-season schedule. Georgia opens the season with UT Martin and Ball State before opening SEC play versus South Carolina. From there, UGA plays its fourth straight home game versus UAB before going on the road to face Auburn in Week 5.
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