ATHENS — Carson Beck’s 2024 season is over, with Georgia football officially announcing that Beck underwent successful surgery to repair an elbow injury and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
The state of Georgia released an official statement announcing the news.
“Georgia quarterback Carson Beck underwent successful surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow on Monday by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal El-Atrash in Los Angeles, California,” the statement read. It is written in the text. “Full recovery from pitching is expected in spring 2025.”
Beck started all 13 games for Georgia this season, throwing for 28 touchdowns, 3,485 yards, and 12 interceptions. Beck had a 24-3 record during his time as a starter at the University of Georgia.
Beck is draft eligible and has a decision to make in the NFL. Beck still has one season of eligibility left. The NFL Draft deadline is set for Jan. 15, but players who will play in the National Championship Game will have an additional five days to declare.
With Beck out, Gunner Stockton has emerged as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback.
In the SEC Championship Game, Stockton replaced Beck and led the Bulldogs to a 22-19 victory. With Beck away from the team, Stockton received the majority of first-team reps in practice.
“He was getting a lot of reps before this practice, and he’s getting a lot more reps now,” Smart said of Stockton in Monday’s press conference. “I think you know you need time to prepare for an opponent like Notre Dame. We didn’t know who we were going to play yet, but what we found out was 24 ~48 hours, or 72 We definitely had a lot of time to prepare for that. We knew there would be no more than two opponents, so we did some preparation beforehand, but the biggest thing was practice. I think the competition. You know, the situations we put him in, all of those things allow him to get better as a quarterback.”
Stockton will make his first career start against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who advanced to the College Football Playoff with a 27-17 win over Indiana on Friday. Notre Dame boasts one of the best defenses in the country, so it will be a strong first test for Stockton.
Stockton is a more mobile quarterback than Beck, but if the offense looked any different, Smart would pump the brakes.
“I think we are us in that regard,” Smart said. “We’ve been playing offensively all season. Gunner is a good athlete. I think Carson is a good athlete. It’s one of those deals where you don’t know how much it changes things.”
Smart has experience making his first start at quarterback against Notre Dame, as the Bulldogs did against Jake Fromm during the 2017 season. The Bulldogs defeated the Fighting Irish 20-19. Fromm played in the national championship game and led Georgia to the SEC title.
The game against Notre Dame is scheduled to begin at 8:45 p.m. ET. ABC will broadcast the game.
