As the 2024 tip toes near for the Bulldogs, a major concern that rose a few weeks back was who would protect QB Carson Beck on the field. With the fall camp over, HC Kirby Smart informed everyone that most guys on the O-line were bruised and exhausted. We even got reports of multiple players suffering from injuries like Achilles and in the hamstring. This is a major problem because, as we all know, Deion Sanders and the Buffs faced something similar last season. With a shattered O-line, Shedeur Sanders went on to become the most sacked QB in 2023. Will the same fate await Carson Beck as well?

Looks like not. Dawgs247 posted a video today on August 27th where we find Carson Beck easing some of the worries with an update regarding RB Branson Robinson. “Our RB are really deep. Branson is a crazy athletic guy. A ton of confidence in him. It always makes my job easier when we have a talented RB,” Beck noted. This is music for Dawgs fans. With this, Bulldogs can rest well, knowing that there will be players who will protect him while he is in the pocket. Coming back to Branson, that kid being in top shape is a big deal. While we all know that last year, we couldn’t see his best performance because of a tear in his patella tendon. However, back in 2022, he proved what kind of a monster he was. The kid recorded around 68 carries for over 300 yards and collected 3 TDs. That ain’t all, during the national title match against TCU, the kid managed to lock in 2 TDs as well.

“(Robinson) looks really good,” Kirby Smart had noted back during the SEC Media Days. He has been running solid on the field and the intensive fall camp has not drained him out. Moving on from him, Beck mentioned another name who would be a major help to the QB on the field. Trevor Etienne is another solid player on the RB roster. There are still major speculations if he would be allowed to play during the opener match against Clemson. He still is an amazing player. During the scrimmage, he was in top shape and helped Smart more comfortable regarding the entire situation of the team. However, what could grab the Bulldogs a big run could be Smart’s new strategy.

Sacrifice chemistry, gain depth

As we noted earlier, the damage to the O-line of the Bulldogs forced Smart to take some drastic decisions. Back on August 20th, during a press conference, Smart revealed that he had decided to focus on building depth and skill for the players instead of chemistry between them. “At the expense of chemistry, we want to have depth,” Smart mentioned. This has allowed the HC to bring out solid performance from key players like Gunner Stockton, Jaden Rashada, Michael Jackson, and Nitro Tuggle.

This change in dynamic would allow Beck to leverage his skilled teammates on the field to secure some good TDs or rushes. While in the world of CRB, Beck is still regarded as one of the top dogs, we are going to see how he does well with all the pressure building up on him. He did lead Georgia to a 13-win season, so will he be able to recreate that magic again?