Georgia is “moving in a positive direction” with starting QB’s arrival

Georgia may have fallen short of an unprecedented three-peat in 2023, but the Bulldogs enter the 2024 offseason with high expectations, as the program is the betting favorite to win the College Football Playoff national championship in 2024, according to multiple sportsbooks.

While Georgia has one of the most formidable teams in the country, the return of starting quarterback Carson Beck is driving much of the increased excitement for Georgia’s chances to reclaim the college football crown next season. Following Georgia’s tight loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, Beck, who had just completed his fourth collegiate season, was one of many Georgia players to consider a move to the NFL.

After a brief period of doubt, the Jacksonville, Florida native confirmed his choice to return to Georgia for the 2024 season on December 18, raising anticipation for Georgia’s chances of winning its third national championship in three seasons. With Beck returning for the 2024 season, the Bulldogs will have one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Beck set a school record for completion percentage in a single season and posted the second-best single-season passing yardage total in program history (3,941) in his first 14 games as Georgia’s starting quarterback in 2023, trailing only Stetson Bennett’s record set in 15 games in 2022.

According to Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart, who spoke with Steak Shapiro and Rusty Mansell on 92.9 The Game on Thursday, this type of production returning at what has rapidly been the sport’s most crucial position has helped Georgia enter the 2024 offseason with strong momentum.

“I think it’s a huge momentum builder, gives a lot of confidence in the program that things are headed in the right direction,” he said. “He has enough confidence in us as coaches and as a staff to continue to lead and direct him in the right direction.”

Beck will once again have a plethora of talented weapons to work with at the skill positions. Wide receivers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas, both of whom played multiple games for Georgia during the 2023 season, are expected to return in 2024, as is budding star receiver Dillon Bell, who started the final three games of the 2023 season in Thomas’ absence due to injury.

London Humphreys (Vanderbilt), Colby Young (Miami), and Michael Jackson III (USC) have also joined the Bulldogs. Former five-star running back Branson Robinson will return from a patellar injury that will keep him out for the whole 2023 season, and Georgia also landed the explosive Trevor Etienne via the transfer portal from rival Florida.

Despite the quality around him, Smart made it apparent that Georgia’s offensive success in 2023 will be mainly determined by quarterback play. “If you’re No. 1 in the country on third down, you’ve got somebody that knows what he’s doing at quarterback,” he said. “It doesn’t happen by chance.”

When you look throughout the country and throughout history at folks who have been good on third downs, you will notice that they are typically high quarterback functioning individuals. That’s exactly what he is.” With that level of production and consistency returning on offense in 2024, combined with the talented pieces Georgia has added to its roster, it’s easy to see why Smart and his team enter the 2024 offseason confident in their ability to reclaim the top of the college football mountain next season.