It’s a new era for the back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs, as Kirby Smart named Carson Beck the starting quarterback heading into the season.
The feeling all offseason was the job was Beck’s to lose, and he showed just why during Georgia’s 48-7 win over the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on Saturday.
Beck, who earned the starting nod over Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton, completed 21-of-31 passes for 294 yards with a touchdown in the lopsided victory. Though, Vandagriff and Stockton did combine to go 5-of-8 for 106 yards with a touchdown, as the Bulldogs pulled their starters early.
“I was very proud of Carson in his first start. I thought he had great composure. Really that was the epitome of every scrimmage he had,” Smart said, via On3. “He threw the ball away when he had to, he hit spots when he had to, he made good decisions, he didn’t put us at risk, he made good checks.
“He did some really good things, and I’m proud of him. We’ve got to get some more help around him with weapons, get some guys healthy, but I’m proud of what he did.”
Coming into Saturday’s matchup with UT-Martin, Beck had made just 10 appearances for the Bulldogs, throwing six touchdown passes and two interceptions in 58 pass attempts over the past two years.
It was a successful debut for Beck, who has big shoes to fill in replacing Stetson Bennett, who went 29-3 as a starter and threw for 66 touchdown passes in his time with the Bulldogs, in addition to winning two national championships. While it was against an FCS opponent, it certainly seems like he passed his first test under center.
[On3]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.