Gene Frenette: Carson Beck seeks Georgia three-peat, piece of college football immortality

When Georgia Bulldogs folk hero Stetson Bennett decided to return for the 2022 season to pursue a second national championship, backup quarterback Carson Beck wasn’t naïve about the chatter over his future.

In an age where athletes seek instant gratification and have a transfer portal avenue to provide immediate eligibility, many wondered if Beck — eyeing another year sitting behind Bennett — would look for the nearest Athens exit sign like Georgia quarterback Justin Fields before him.

“There was a lot of noise around me telling me to leave,” Beck told the Times-Union Wednesday in a phone interview. “Thoughts crept in, but nothing serious. It never got to a point where I had a conversation with coach [Kirby Smart] about leaving.

“I tried to stay true and be where my feet were. Hopefully, that’ll pay off in a positive way.”

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Beck has immense shoes to fill, considering Bennett got the payoff he wanted by winning back-to-back national titles. Now the Mandarin High graduate will attempt to do what no other quarterback in college football history has done in the modern AP poll era: guide his team to a three-peat.

Ten previous back-to-back champions fell short of winning it all that third year, though Alabama in 1966 went 11-0 with Ken Stabler at quarterback, but still finished No. 3 in the final rankings behind Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Despite the pressure of going for a three-peat, Beck has good reason to embrace being a first-time starter under a glaring spotlight. Georgia returns 13 starters, including three two-year starters along the offensive line, the best tight end in the country in Brock Bowers and possibly more offensive weapons than Bennett had a year ago.

“It’s a great situation to come into,” said Beck. “Great players, great coaches. I’m excited for the season to get rolling.”

Following Mac’s example

Before Todd Monken left Georgia in February to take the same offensive coordinator position with the Baltimore Ravens, one of the things he often cited about Beck not transferring after Bennett returned was Mac Jones waiting his turn to become Alabama’s starter.

The Bolles School graduate took over in his third year when Tua Tagovailoa suffered a hip injury late in the 2019 season, then Jones led ‘Bama to a perfect record and national championship in 2020.

“His example definitely comes to mind,” Beck said of Jones staying with the Crimson Tide. “I know Mac pretty well. Great guy. Seeing his story and what he did [at Alabama] was very influential. It’s the same thing I’ve been through. It pushed me through my situation to now.”

“Had Mac Jones transferred to someplace like Pitt or where there’s not the same players around him as at Alabama, I don’t know that you’d ever heard of him,” Monken added.

One factor that helped Beck stay loyal to Georgia was he had a relationship with Monken dating back to 2009 when the coach’s son, Travis, and the Georgia quarterback were on the same youth travel baseball team in Jacksonville. Beck’s father, Chris, coached the team and Monken, then the Jaguars’ receivers coach, went to as many games as his schedule allowed.

More than a decade later, much of Beck’s development at Georgia came with Monken serving as his OC and quarterback coach. The irony isn’t lost on Monken that he left Georgia to go back to the NFL after encouraging Beck to stay.

“I can’t be in two places at once and Carson made it hard to leave,” said Monken. “I’m a big fan of Carson and the coaches there. All the work we put in with him, then to leave that before it could come to fruition, that was hard. You could see in games when Carson got in last year, he became more consistent.

“He’s way ahead now from a confidence and composure standpoint. In his situation, you better exhaust every opportunity before you leave a place like Georgia where, when you take the field, nine times out of 10, you’re better. As a quarterback, that’s where you want to be.”

In limited mop-up duty last year, Beck completed 26 of 35 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. He got a season-high 17 snaps in the 65-7 CFP championship rout of TCU, hitting on two of three passes for 31 yards.

Now the stakes for Beck, to sustain a high-octane offense (41.1 points per game, 501.2 yards) and raise a third straight national championship trophy, will be much higher.

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'All I can do is be me'

Though Monken is gone, Beck’s comfort level with the Georgia offense will be aided by having proven weapons like Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey, along with promising SEC receiver transfers Dominic Lovett (Missouri) and Rara Thomas (Mississippi State).

Beck also has plenty of familiarity with Mike Bobo, the former Georgia quarterback who was an OC under Mark Richt and returns to that role after being Monken’s offensive analyst last season.

“I knew whatever his decision, it wouldn’t alter anything for me this coming year,” Beck said of the Monken departure. “I appreciate him developing me into the quarterback I am today. Bobo has picked up and will continue to add things to help me grow. You never stop trying to get better.”

All eyes are on Beck to keep the Georgia machine rolling, and he gives off not a whiff of anxiety about those expectations. Beck thinks of himself as the same even-keeled quarterback who led Mandarin to the 2018 Class 7A state title, throwing five TDs in the 37-35 championship game win over Miami Columbus.

As the Sept. 2 season opener against UT Martin approaches, and with the biggest test a long way off at Tennessee on Nov. 18, a composed Beck believes he’s ready for whatever scrutiny and pressure comes to someone in his position.

Following the heroic Bennett won’t be easy, but the fourth-year junior came to Georgia for the opportunity to enjoy every step on the journey toward pursuing a championship.

“Each season is separate from the next,” Beck said. “We have a totally different team and mindset, just a different way of looking at it. I have to be where my feet are and attack every play, just simplify things for myself. All I can do is be me.”

The question remains whether Beck being himself will be good enough to earn Georgia an exalted place in college football history.

Not since Alabama’s A.J. McCarron in 2013 has a quarterback had a chance to deliver a three-peat. He was on the cusp of playing for a national title, but Auburn’s Chris Davis ruined it in the Iron Bowl with a 109-yard touchdown return off a missed field goal on the game’s final play.

Beck can’t ask for a much better situation. Georgia’s schedule is plenty accommodating, with No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 12 Tennessee as its only ranked opponents. His head coach also happened to be the defensive coordinator on those ‘Bama teams that came within an eyelash of a three-peat, so Smart has experience navigating this circumstance.

The quarterback who never seriously considered leaving Georgia, who chose to stick around for one more year in Stetson Bennett’s shadow, will now get a chance to take center stage.

“It’s a hard time for players to want to stick it out because everything in those circumstances says leave,” Monken said. “That’s everything in life, right? Change jobs. Change marriages.

“I just believe in my heart Carson’s patience is going to pay off. I’m convinced he’s going to kill it.”

If Carson Beck does a reenactment of the Mac Jones story — a quarterback rewarded with a national championship after waiting his turn to be a starter — he can walk into college football immortality.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540  

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Georgia QB Carson Beck takes center stage after sitting behind Stetson Bennett