Georgia’s $900 Million Key player Into His Decision As He Return To Bulldogs For 2024…
Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Even though Georgia’s school-record winning streak of 29 games came to an end and they were not chosen to play in the College Football Playoff to try for a third straight national championship, there is a bright spot of sorts.
Carson Beck will return.
And that might not have happened if the Bulldogs’ season had gone a little differently.
The idea that he would have some unresolved business following the season—after this season’s plans went awry with the Bulldogs losing to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game—was a major factor in Beck’s decision to return to Georgia in 2024, as he explained on Thursday.
“I mean, I feel like that’s always part of it,” Beck said. “I feel like if we hadn’t of lost that game, maybe things would be different. But obviously that’s the way that things panned out and mentally that definitely had an effect on my decision.”
Beck is expected to be Georgia’s starter on Saturday when the sixth-ranked Bulldogs (12-1, No. 6 CFP) take on No. 4 Florida State (13-0, No. 5 CFP) in the Orange Bowl. It’s a chance for Georgia to give its senior class a 50th win, which would be a school record for one class.
After this season, Beck could have definitely gone pro. After waiting three years for his chance to start, the fourth-year junior was viewed as a first- or second-round NFL draft prospect following a season in which he completed 72% of his passes for 3,738 yards and 22 touchdowns.
However, Georgia’s 27-24 loss to then-No. 8 Alabama in the SEC title game forced Beck to make a choice. Go pro now, or stay and try to win the CFP and SEC next season.
“I think I knew, truly, like a few days after the game,” Beck said. “In my heart I knew exactly what I wanted to do and what I was going to do. I just had to talk to people and make sure that everyone was kind of in agreement with what I wanted to do.”
Florida State is aware of the difficulty Beck poses. With at least 243 yards in 12 of his 13 games this season, he is incredibly consistent. Having only six interceptions in 399 pass attempts, he is not prone to turning the ball over. He is ranked eighth nationally in yards per pass attempt and sixth nationally in completion percentage and passing yards.
Florida State defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said of the player, “And what you see with him that he probably doesn’t get acknowledged for — he’s not a scrambler — but he does know how to escape the pocket and when to escape.” He typically completes the play with exceptional efficiency and scores first downs. When you combine all of that, you can see why he has had such a successful year. They have been so effective offensively because of this. For that, he is given a lot of credit. He is deserving of it.