Funny how that whole recruiting thing works.
In June 2018, a young Carson Beck committed to play football at Alabama. In a since-deleted social media post, Beck said he made the decision after discussing his future with his family and three Alabama coaches: Nick Saban, Dan Enos and one Brent Key.
Beck, of course, is having a breakout season as No. 1 Georgia’s starting quarterback. Key, meanwhile, is wrapping up his first full regular season as the coach at his alma mater of Georgia Tech. The two will face off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Beck’s commitment to Alabama certainly made regional noise at the time five years ago, but mostly because Beck was a relatively unheralded recruit who previously committed to the Florida baseball program and who now intended to play baseball and football for the Crimson Tide. After Beck’s junior season at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida, however, Enos left Alabama to be the offensive coordinator at Miami. Key then left Alabama to coach the offensive line at Tech.
Shortly thereafter, in February 2019, Beck backed off to his pledge to Alabama. One month later, he committed to Georgia.
Beck patiently waited for his turn in Athens before earning his shot to be the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback beginning in September. He’s been nothing short of remarkable since, throwing for 3,320 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing 72.9% of his passes. A 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior, Beck hasn’t had a game yet where he hasn’t connected on at least 65% of his throws. He goes into the weekend ranked eighth nationally in passing efficiency (169.5).
Tech’s secondary, including childhood friend and Tech safety LaMiles Brooks, will be hoping Beck doesn’t continue those gaudy trends.
“Back in Jacksonville, the biggest quarterback rivalry at the time was Carson Beck and (former Tech quarterback) Jeff Sims. So obviously I knew both of them,” Brooks said. “We kinda grew up together in 7-on-7s, things like that. Our high schools didn’t play against each other, but we were definitely on the same 7-on-7 teams as well as played against each other.”
Beck’s counterpart, Haynes King, is having quite the season as a first-time starter as well, albeit he’s a first-time starter at Tech, not in his college career. King was at Texas A&M for three seasons where he started off and on before transferring to Tech in January.
Georgia’s won’t be the first SEC defense King has seen, either. While with the Aggies he played in six SEC games and went 73-for-140 passing for 818 yards, completed five touchdowns and was intercepted five times. And earlier this season, in a road game at Mississippi, King went 28-of-41 for 307 yards and two scores.
In those seven career games against SEC foes in which he has seen the field, King has been a part of only one win, that result coming in 2020 at South Carolina, when he threw one pass that went for a 42-yard touchdown. But the sophomore has the Tech locker room believing in him and his abilities despite his past struggles against SEC competition, and thus the Jackets are believing they can get the job done Saturday.
“(King’s) a great guy. He’s a great leader to the team,” Tech wide receiver Christian Leary said. “He pushes everybody, offense, defense. He’s just a great energy to have around. On top of his football abilities, it’s unmatched. You wouldn’t want to be around a better guy like that. The way he carries his self – he’s a winner. At the end of the day, everybody makes mistakes, but at the end of the day you know (King) is trying to win. That’s just how I look at it. He’s a great teammate, great supporter, great leader.”
With two games remaining this season, King needs four touchdown completions to pass Joe Hamilton’s record for TD throws (29) in a single Tech season. King also needs 489 yards passing to set Tech’s single-season mark for passing yards in a season and 42 completions to set a record in that category. At 62.3%, King’s completion rate is among the top five for a Tech QB in a single season.
King also has had an exceptional season as a runner, totaling 624 yards and seven touchdowns (which is tied for the team lead). Those totals are the highest for the Jackets since the program’s final season with an option offense, when TaQuon Marshall and Tobias Oliver each had at least 876 yards on the ground and at least 11 rushing touchdowns each.
“They have a quarterback that can run the ball, which gets you an extra hat in it,” UGA coach Kirby Smart said this week about King. “He’s really fast and really athletic – happens to throw the ball really well, too.”
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