ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia officially stated on Monday what most people that follow college football had probably already surmised:
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who was injured on the final play of the second half during the SEC Championship game, has been ruled out for the rest of the season (essentially the College Football Playoffs).
The Georgia athletic department released an official statement on Monday:
“Georgia quarterback Carson Beck underwent successful surgery Monday on his right elbow to repair his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), performed by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, Ca,” the statement said. " A full recovery is expected with throwing to begin spring of 2025.”
Beck has been the starter for the Bulldogs each of the past two seasons, compiling a 24-3 overall record. He started every game in 2024, including the SECCG, throwing for 3,485 yards and tossing 28 touchdowns. But he was also picked off 12 times this season.
Former Rabun County standout Gunner Stockton played the entire second half of the SECCG, except for the final play, for the Bulldogs, leading them to a 22-19, come-from-behind win in overtime against Texas.
Stockton is expected to make his first collegiate start on Jan. 1 when Georgia takes on Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the playoffs in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, in a press conference on Monday, offered his take on Stockton and his being ready against the Irish in what will be the biggest game of the redshirt-sophomore's career.
“He got lots of reps prior to these practices, but he’s getting much more now,” Smart said. “We haven’t known who we were going to play for you know, I guess now what, 24-48 hours we’ve known, 72 hours. There’s certainly a lot of time in prep you can do to prepare for that. We prepared for some of that prior to that because we knew it would be within two opponents. But I think the biggest thing is just the competition at practice. You know, the situations we put him in, all those things allow him to get better as a quarterback.”
Stockton is more of a dual-threat quarterback than the dropback nature of Beck. While many expect the offense to cater to the mobile style of Stockton, Smart said the offense won't be too different from what it has been all year.
“We’ve played an entire season offensively. Gunner is a good athlete," Smart said. "It’s one of those deals of I don’t know how much that changes things.”
