Carson Beck became ‘a warrior’ to return for Georgia’s game-winning play

Georgia’s Carson Beck returned to the field for the game-winning play of the SEC championship despite injury his arm.
Carson Beck’s injury will require further evaluation before Georgia’s playoff game.
Gunner Stockton engineered Georgia rally, but Carson Beck executed handoff on final play vs. Texas.

ATLANTA – Trevor Etienne called it a “perfect handoff,” and maybe Georgia’s running back spoke a tad facetiously, because, in one sense, it was just a handoff.

In another sense, it showed that quarterback Carson Beck is “a warrior,” as Georgia defensive back Dan Jackson put it.

Georgia called on an injured Beck to execute the handoff for the No. 5 Bulldogs’ game-winning run in overtime of a 22-19 victory over No. 2 Texas in the SEC championship game.

Carson Beck will receive MRI after injury

Georgia coach Kirby Smart didn’t detail the severity of Beck’s injury – Georgia’s quarterback will receive an MRI – but he confirmed that injury prevented Beck from throwing a pass.

“They looked at it, and it looked OK, but (he) didn’t have grip strength and couldn’t throw,” Smart said.

Georgia players learned about midway through the halftime break that Stockton would be taking the reins of the offense.

Stockton led Georgia on a touchdown drive on the opening possession of the third quarter.

“That speaks volumes about him,’ Etienne said. ‘He’s not QB1, and he could be down, but instead, he takes advantage of the opportunities that he gets. I’m glad he was able to come out and help us get the win.”

Why Carson Beck rejoined game for Georgia’s winning play

By every appearance, Beck’s day seemed done after the injury – or so it did, until Stockton’s helmet came dislodged on the penultimate play of overtime.

By rule, because Stockton’s helmet came off, he had to sit out the next snap.

Cue the third-string quarterback?

Nope. Time for the injured starting quarterback to snap on his helmet.

And it didn’t matter that everyone in the building knew Beck would hand off the ball, with his arm in no condition to throw a pass. Georgia didn’t need him to pass. Beck turned and handed to Etienne, who ran 4 yards through the teeth of Texas’ defense and into the end zone.

Game over.

 “Best handoff of my life,” Etienne said with a smile.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.