Six games into the season, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is proving to be a cool customer for the top-ranked Bulldogs.
Although his numbers speak for themselves, it’s Beck’s ability to thrive under pressure while staying secure in the pocket that’s enabling him to enjoy success.
So, what’s his secret sauce?
Head coach Kirby Smart was asked that question during Monday’s press conference. His answer may surprise you.
“I think, a baseball background, I’ve learned, gives you the ability to handle pressure,” Smart said. “There’s no greater pressure than you have to throw a strike. Nobody can help you throw that strike, no coach, no pitching coach. You’ve got to stand out there and throw a strike.”
Considering Beck’s success last week against the blitz, Smart may indeed be onto something.
Against Kentucky, the Wildcats blitzed the Bulldogs during 15 of Beck’s attempts. He completed 13 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns.
Per ESPN, by doing so, Beck became just the third SEC quarterback over the past 10 years to throw for four touchdowns and complete 85 percent of his passes against the blitz, joining Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young.
“That pressure is not the same as a man running in your face, but it's pressure. He does well under pressure,” Smart said. “He has 10 good friends that are on the same page with him. We do a lot of pressure pick-up in the offseason, walkthroughs, and preseason camp.”
The quarterback said Smart’s baseball analogy may just be on point.
Beck was an accomplished pitcher growing up in Jacksonville. With a fastball in the low 90s, Beck could just as easily have found himself on the mound for the Bulldog baseball team had this football gig not panned out.
“I've been through a lot of things in my life that helped me to the point where I can handle pressure, but definitely being a pitcher and playing baseball, you're the only guy that's doing anything when you're up there pitching,” Beck said. “Baseball's a little bit more boring of a sport, but you're the guy. All the weight is on you to sit there and execute whether you're throwing 80, 90, 100 pitches a game. I definitely can say that could be a credit to the way that I handle pressure."
Smart said Beck’s ability to quickly recognize what opposing defenses are attempting to do as having a significant role, too.
“He's a great processor. I mean, Carson's very intelligent, guys. You know, you can say what you want about the quarterback position, but you have to process information rapidly,” Smart said. “The more information you can handle, the more flexibility your offense has. The flexibility of an offense is usually tied to what the quarterback can handle. Our quarterback—not only because he's smart but because he's also of age and been in the same system for multiple years—has been able to grow from that.”
Beck’s numbers speak for themselves.
After winning Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors based on his performance against Kentucky, Beck has thrown for 1,886 yards (second in the SEC).
"I have standards and goals for myself, but as far as expectations, I just try to go out there and be myself every single game,” Beck said. “I don't expect to go throw for X amount of yards or X amount of completions. It's never about the numbers. Especially at the quarterback position, that's a huge thing you put on quarterbacks. How many wins do they have? How many losses do they have? At the end of the day, for our team, I just think it matters that we get out with the win."
