The star signal-caller could leave an indelible mark on college football.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is one of two preseason favorites to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy, and he solidified his star status when EA Sports unveiled him as one of the cover athletes for the deluxe edition of the long-awaited College Football 25 video game. The elite signal-caller was the driving force behind one of the sport’s most prolific offenses last season and will play an integral role this year in determining title winners at both the SEC and national level.
As the quarterback for one of college football’s top recruiting powerhouses, Beck has a supporting cast capable of helping him reach rare individual heights. The complete Georgia package is a championship contender yet again, and the Bulldogs are even hungrier in 2024 after missing the College Football Playoff and an opportunity to win a third-straight title.
“I think Carson Beck is the most important player in the conference this year because if I knew nothing more about the SEC this year than Carson Beck is going to play at an A- or better level, I wouldn’t need to know anything else,” Late Kick host Josh Pate said. “That’s the best team in the conference. They’re going to win it and may go on to win it all. If Carson Beck does nothing more — if I know nothing more than that dude is just going to play to his full potential and he’s going to justify everyone who has mocked him in the first round of the NFL Draft next year, Georgia’s good enough everywhere else.”
Beck settled comfortably into the starting job last season, taking over for two-time national champion Stetson Bennett IV. The multi-year backup thrived in his expanded role, and by the end of the year, he recorded the second-most passing yards in Georgia single-season history with 3,941. He was one of the country’s most efficient passers and was about as reliable as quarterbacks come with his 11-straight performances of 250 or more yards.
“Georgia has got quarterback, head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator,” Pate said. “They’ve got continuity across the board. One of, if not the best cultures in college football. They’ve got a really good and probably underrated crop of receivers, and that includes the tight end position, and that includes that dude out of the backfield they got out of Florida… That was the No. 5 offense in the country, scoring or yards. Pick. They were No. 5 in both. So I think Carson Beck is an extremely important player. The most important in the SEC. You may be able to say he’s the most important player in the country.”
The 2024 Georgia roster is as talented and deep as ever given that numerous stars from last year’s squad are back, the Bulldogs signed this offseason another top-ranked recruiting class and paired those newcomers with hordes of impactful transfers like star Florida running back Trevor Etienne.