Carson Beck’s season is officially over.
Georgia’s starting quarterback underwent successful surgery Monday to repair the UCL in his right elbow, the school announced. He is expected to make a full recovery, but this means Beck will miss the entire College Football Playoff.
Beck initially went down in the first half of Georgia’s victory over Texas in the SEC Championship earlier this month. His arm was hit hard by a Longhorns defender as he tried to make a final throw before halftime, causing the ball to come loose and him lying on the ground in great pain.
Beck missed the second half of the game, although backup quarterback Gunner Stockton took over and led the Bulldogs to victory in overtime. That assured them a spot in the College Football Playoff and an automatic bye to the Sugar Bowl. They will face Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on January 1.
Georgia has reportedly been preparing for Beck’s absence from the playoffs since the injury, and deemed his return “unlikely.” Beck will finish the year with 3,485 yards, 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
It’s unclear what impact the injury will have on him in the pre-draft process. Beck was not listed in the first round of Yahoo Sports’ latest NFL mock draft, although there aren’t many great quarterbacks in this draft class. If Beck can get ahead of the draft in April, his stock could theoretically rise – although this injury will undoubtedly make that much more difficult.
Stockton went 12-for-16 for 71 yards and threw an interception against Texas in the SEC title game. Trevor Etienne scored a four-yard touchdown in overtime to seal the 22-19 victory, although Beck returned to hand off the ball for that play. Stockton played in three games this season, throwing for 206 yards and completing 25 passes. The sophomore was a four-star recruit from Rivals.com and the second quarterback in his class coming out of high school.
Stockton is expected to get the start against the Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame, which rolled over Indiana 27-17 in the first round, is listed as a 1.5-point underdog against Georgia in the quarterfinals on BetMGM.
While the Bulldogs’ chances at a third title in the past four years have undoubtedly diminished in Beck’s absence, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has had plenty of extra practice time to get Stockton ready to go.
“Well, I would say: just experience it [helps Stockton]right?” Smart said Monday, via The Athletic. “I think you need time to know when you’re getting ready for an opponent like Notre Dame. … We had prepared for some of that before that, because we knew it was would be one of the two opponents. But I think the most important thing is just competition and practice. All those things allow him to improve as a quarterback.”
