Carson Beck is exactly who we thought he was, and in the best of ways. That much shone clearly in the team’s 34-3 win over Clemson in the season-opener.
Beck and the offense got off to a lackluster start, walking into the locker room with a 6-0 lead that came off of a pair of field goals. There was some talk of Beck not throwing passes longer than 10 yards or so that some lamented on social media. It’s important to keep in mind, though, checking it down is sometimes simply all the quarterback is being asked to do within an offense.
In reality, Beck was simply executing, and continued to help Georgia to a complete offensive tear after offensive coordinator Mike Bobo made adjustments at halftime that allowed the jets to turn on.
“Maybe there was a little bit of nerves,” Beck said of the first half. “Maybe guys were just trying to get warmed into the game.”
Beck showed he was solid at all levels of the field from that point on though, including on the deep ball where his underrated arm strength came through.
One of the biggest things that separates Beck from some of the other great Georgia quarterbacks of the past is his ability to extend plays and pick up extra yards to move the chains
That’s something head coach Kirby Smart has seen him grow in even further that he saw in the team’s most recent victory.
“Yeah, tremendous (on Beck’s growth at extending plays),” Smart said. “The first conversion (a third down scramble) was that, it didn’t end up in points, but what it did was flip field position. It made (Clemson) play behind bad field position most of the day. He has the ability to do that and I tell people all the time they don’t know the athlete he is and it’s not the speed, it’s the body control, decision making.”
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Beck finished out the contest 23-for-33 passing, passing for 278 yards with 2 touchdowns on an interception-free day.
Even in an era where physical tools and mobility are valued and can bring more dimension to an offense, a quarterback first and foremost needs to be accurate and show a large degree of comfortability operating the offense.
No one in the nation does that better right now than Carson Beck does.