Before Georgia faces UAB, meet QB Carson Beck from someone who knows him best
Three games after arriving to the Mandarin football team as an 11th-grader, Carson Beck’s high school head coach Bobby Ramsay had to take notice.
The Jacksonville kid wasted little time flashing his talent, despite only moving to the quarterback position a year prior. He led his team on a near-flawless two-minute drive to beat DeLand, one of the well-known high school programs in the state of Florida. At that moment, a young Beck showed he might have some potential.
It all culminated a few weeks later on the biggest stage, when Mandarin faced Columbus of Miami in the 8A state title game. Under the spotlight of Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Beck threw for five touchdown passes. He single-handedly led his team to a 37-35 win, and one of those connections is one that lives in program infamy.
“It was the prettiest pass I’d ever seen a high school kid throw,” Ramsay said.
At that time, Beck had offers from the likes of Boston College, Florida Atlantic and Miami (Florida). Not many SEC schools were on his radar until Georgia came calling, and now Beck’s opportunity might await.
Georgia starting quarterback JT Daniels reportedly suffered an upper-body injury, and his playing status for the Bulldogs’ home opener against UAB (3:30 p.m., ESPN2) is unknown. Beck took a majority of the first-team reps in practice on Tuesday, and would assume those duties if Daniels is unable to go.
Indications on Friday were that Beck would be the starter this week.
“We’re confident in both quarterbacks,” wide receiver Ladd McConkey said of Daniels and Beck. “They both give us good balls and have good arm strength. We’re confident either way it goes.”
Beck’s lone performance (other than a late-game appearance in a win over Missouri) came in the G-Day spring game. He threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-31 passing. Otherwise, the redshirt freshman has seldom been seen in the red and black.
The Telegraph went to Beck’s stomping grounds for a Q&A with Ramsay, the coach who saw his biggest leap in development as a high-schooler.
Note: This has been slightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What are some qualities about Carson that give him a chance to succeed in an opportunity at Georgia?
A: The main thing with Carson is that he’s a football guy. He loves the process of being a quarterback and playing the position. All of the off-the-field stuff, he really embraces it. It’s fun for him and it’s not that way for every player. He takes pleasure in a lot of things he gets to do and the process of being a quarterback. That’s been one of the reasons he’s successful.
As far as arm strength goes, he’s probably the strongest they have. I think he’s got a better arm than Daniels. He’s got a quick release and is an underrated athlete. He’s a better runner than he gets credit for. Everybody likes to label quarterbacks as pocket guys or dual threat, and I guess he leans more towards the pocket, but I think he’s extremely gifted athletically. He could make a play with his feet that could surprise some people. He’s got a big arm and he’s got to make sure he doesn’t bite off more than he can chew.
Q: Do you feel as if Carson can step into a significant role if needed on such short notice?
A: He’s a really confident player who knows the game extremely well. His preparation gives him confidence, and he believes in his arm talent. For some guys, that can get you in trouble. They think they can make every throw. I never saw that from him.
He came from a private school, so he went from church league ball to playing on the highest level in the state of Florida. Never once was it too big for him. Never once was he overwhelmed, although he had to acclimate to the level and learn the differences in athleticism.
He’s a guy who can get in there and take charge of the receiver group. Not necessarily tell them what to do, but he can have a commanding presence with those guys and make sure that they’re lined up and doing what they’re supposed to do.
Q: As a recruit, what drew Carson to come to Georgia despite a number of quarterbacks already in the fold?
A: It kind of came out of nowhere. He went up there for his unofficial, and his dad called me to say, “He’s gonna commit.” He was impressed by coach (Kirby) Smart, the plan they had for the offense and how Carson fit in it. I think, too, an underrated thing is that Carson really liked Athens and the school. We always get so caught up in how the player is going to fit into the football program, but Carson has been happy being there. Football takes up a lot of time and is hard, quite frankly. You can go back to a dorm and you’re on campus with people you enjoy, then you can get through those tough times a bit easier.
Q: How does Carson fit into Georgia’s offense based on what you’ve seen?
A: I noticed a level of comfort with him there. The only thing I’ve ever told him is, “You are the best quarterback they’ve got once you get a chance. Don’t give it up.” I really believe that. Once he gets an opportunity, it’s going to be hard to get him off the field. Obviously, I’m a little biased, but that’s my message to him. There’s a calmness, comfort level and confidence with him that I hadn’t seen.
He came to Georgia in a tough spot. He enrolled early and the pandemic hit. We’re talking about a guy who didn’t play quarterback until he was a 10th-grader and we got him in the 11th grade from a 400-person Christian school.
From where he was to where he is, he’s got too many things going for him to not be good at the end of the day. In the simplest sense, he’s too good to not be good.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 2:31 PM.