Kirby Smart shares injured Georgia QB Carson Beck’s plan for Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS — Carson Beck is expected to be in New Orleans for Georgia’s Sugar Bowl matchup Wednesday against Notre Dame, albeit still unable to play.

“He’s going to join us in the next couple days down here,” coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “The big thing for him has been his rehab process and what he’s had to do there. He’s had a really tough injury, and he needed to get some rehab from people down in Jacksonville (Florida).”

Smart said Beck, who has undergone surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm and is expected to begin throwing in April, has stayed in contact with Gunner Stockton. Stockton is preparing to quarterback the Bulldogs in their College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Caesars Superdome.

“He’s been there for Gunner throughout; he supported Gunner and had multiple conversations with him,” Smart said. “So we’re looking forward to having him with us for this game.”

Beck suffered the injury on the final play of the first half in the SEC Championship Game, when Georgia trailed 6-3 at that time.

Beck returned to the Georgia sideline, though he did take the final snap of the game, because Stockton had to sit out a play because his helmet had been knocked off on the previous play. His right arm dangling at his side, Beck handed the ball to Trevor Etienne for the game-winning touchdown in the 22-19 win over Texas.

Beck’s NFL draft evaluation is a difficult one; even with a relatively weak draft for the quarterback position, Beck’s injury and ongoing rehabilitation makes it a complex and fluid projection. Many projections have Beck going into the second or third round.