Carson Beck had a tumultuous yet glorious past at Georgia. From a season plagued by interceptions to a brief comeback, a brutal injury in the SEC Championship against Texas, and a hasty portal exit to Miami, the saga has it all. He went from Dawg Nation’s most hated to Mario Cristobal’s favorite, but his shadow still hangs over Athens. Analysts are still busy digging into the real percentage of Beck’s contribution to Smart’s disappointing 11-3 season.

Was Beck the one who derailed Georgia’s title hopes, or just a convenient scapegoat for a team-wide slump? Insider Ryan Kerley has the scoop.

Carson Beck’s role in Georgia’s downfall is re-evaluated in a new light

Beck struggled against teams like Alabama and Florida. Despite the unbridled fan backlash, even to the point of throwing dirt on his personal life, Coach Smart has firmly been by his side no matter what. He took all the pressure on himself and didn’t bench him even after he had thrown a whopping 12 interceptions. Rather, Smart keeps on praising Beck’s other valuables, like his acute decision-making, etc. This wasn’t mere lip service. But the real question is, should the gun be all on Beck’s shoulder for a series of shaky performances?

Ryan Kerley believes that Carson Beck headed into the season with more responsibility than he could chew, and the result was an open secret to all. It’s simply an over-exhaustion of workload on the gridiron. Explaining the pre-season hype, the SEC insider noted, ”It’s an offense that when you looked at it on paper ahead of the season, you thought it was going to be pretty good and Carson Beck had expectations to be a Heisman Contender, to be a national champion, to be a potential number one pick in this upcoming NFL draft. Those were the expectations placed on him, and if you ask me, those expectations were probably a little unfair to Carson and unrealistic.” Beck had a bumpy road, no doubt about that. But he is just the face of a larger systemic issue.

”His play was all over the place; he was erratic in 2024; he hurt Georgia in huge games, but he didn’t get help sometimes. The offensive line didn’t play that well; Georgia really didn’t have a running game,” Kerley noted the massive truth that people heavily ignored. Beck isn’t perfect. His frequent turnover showed how incapable he is of handling pressure, but let’s just not forget that Beck did everything in his power for the last five years to elevate the Bulldogs.

Kerley, though, thinks Smart should’ve handed the “keys” to someone else, like Ryan Puglisi. “At the end of the day,” Kerley said, “that was Georgia football defense to me that was good enough to win a championship, a coaching staff that was good enough to win a championship, and an offense that had the pieces.”

However, the season went down and became a memory. Now, all eyes are on the spring practice. But is Kirby Smart again making a Carson Beck-like mistake?

Is Gunner Stockton the last option for Georgia heading into the spring?

While Beck wasn’t the only issue that went wrong in Georgia, Smart’s overindulgence of his repeated lackluster performances made things a bit tricky for the program. Starting afresh, the Georgia head coach is again put on notice concerning his Gunner Stockton decision.

Stockton was a dominant beast in the SEC title game, coming on for an injured Beck. He recorded three scoring drives and picked up a crucial overtime first down. Against Texas, he threw for 71 yards. But now it seems another QB competition is brewing up that can add some layers to Smart’s confidence in Stockton for the spring game.

247Sports’ Andrew Ivins broke down a new twist, saying, ”I think there are some limitations with him (Gunner Stockton), but I’m not sure right now. Ryan Puglisi is there in Athens, you know, a former Elite 11 quarterback that Georgia was really high on when they signed him. He showed up in Athens a little banged up. He was a multi-sport guy.” Puglisi looks like he could be exactly what Georgia needs at QB—mobile and skilled.

But will Smart give him the chance to shine, or will he stick with his usual approach and favor experience over potential? It’s Stockton vs. Puglisi, and the choice is Smart’s.