Under the perfect set of circumstances, the recruitment of a coveted four-star quarterback can shift from one side of an SEC rivalry to the other in less than a week. The saga of Carson Beck proved it.
Beck, the cerebral 2020 Mandarin High (Jacksonville) quarterback, never announced a commitment to Florida, and yet his father, Chris, still phoned Gators quarterback coach Brian Johnson before last weekend’s trip to Georgia, which indicates just how close Beck was to choosing Florida.
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“It was really, really tough,” Chris Beck said of the phone call to Johnson. “Because I have a lot of respect for him and the job they are doing.”
Beck planned to visit Florida on March 12. At least one more time, Beck, a pro-style passer, wanted to verify how Gators head coach Dan Mullen and Johnson would use him in their spread offense. Beck labeled Florida as his front-runner in late February, and a commitment was likely if the conversation supported Beck’s vision for himself: an SEC quarterback who would be given the opportunity to earn playing time early and then throw approximately 30 times per game.
But then last Wednesday happened.
When Beck arrived home from school at around 4:30 p.m., his father asked if he had received any news. Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley had been in touch and made it clear he wanted a deeper conversation soon. Beck formally received an offer from Georgia on Wednesday evening. He was in Athens over the weekend. He committed to Georgia on Sunday afternoon.
There was a reason why things escalated so quickly.
Typically, high-profile prospects don’t take visits to schools two days after receiving offers from programs in March unless it’s a dream destination.
Georgia was the one for Beck.
This was his third trip to Athens. Beck wasn’t scorned by not receiving an offer previously; he kept working to earn one because that’s how much he wanted one. The timing, as his father put it, was never going to make a difference, and in this case, the moment was perfect, anyway. Beck wanted to make a commitment by the end of the spring. If a tangible path to Georgia existed earlier, it’s more than reasonable to believe that Beck wouldn’t have planned to go to Florida.
So, yes, this was a recruiting loss for Florida. It was also a reminder that Kirby Smart and Georgia are still Kirby Smart and Georgia, despite the Gators beating the Bulldogs for four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam in February. The optics are ugly, too: A Jacksonville quarterback spurns Florida, which is led by a quarterback guru. But in this particular instance, could Mullen and Florida have done anything differently in order to secure Beck’s commitment?
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Not according to those closest to Beck’s recruitment.
Perhaps Florida could have dug deeper on Beck’s affinity toward Georgia, but how much should that prevent a school from heavily recruiting an elite in-state talent when Georgia hadn’t even offered?
“My wife was like, ‘Holy mackerel, that’s the one he wanted,’ ” Chris Beck said. “Then I saw it in his eyes. I thought, ‘This is real, this is his home.’ It’s just a great fit for him.”
That means Georgia also checked all the boxes. The Bulldogs won Beck’s commitment in part because of the offensive system, offensive line and expectation of competing for national championships.
Forget facilities. Forget Smart versus Mullen. Forget location. Mullen and Johnson secured Beck’s attention on the idea of being in serious contention for national titles, adjusting scheme to fit his strengths and surrounding him with elite playmakers and a dependable offensive line. The vision was well-executed in meetings; Beck accepted the idea of “being a willing runner,” and his father valued Mullen’s impressive track record of development. But Georgia already had all of those things.
On top of all that, Georgia has more of a need for Beck. There’s a chance the Bulldogs need a new starter in 2020. They will definitely need one in 2021. Dwan Mathis will be an option, but Beck, an early-enrollee, would arrive in Athens with the better résumé.
“They truly looked at Carson as the future of Georgia football,” Chris Beck said.
That wasn’t something Mullen, in good faith, could pitch with the immediacy of Georgia. And he didn’t. Mullen told Carson Beck, according to Beck, that he’d have an opportunity to earn playing time, but he would have to deserve it, probably after redshirting as a freshman. Beck said he was fine with that.
Like Georgia, there’s a chance the Gators need a new starter in 2020 if Feleipe Franks takes a significant step forward and bolts for the draft. Florida will certainly need one in 2021, assuming Franks sticks as the starter to that point. But the Gators have Emory Jones, who would have the edge over any incoming quarterback despite his recruit ranking being on par with Beck’s. There’s also Jalon Jones, who enrolled in January as a four-star prospect.
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There is no immediate fix for the Gators after losing out on Beck, but there doesn’t have to be; it’s only March.
Eastside three-star dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson was previously committed to Florida but withdrew his pledge when the Gators and Beck became linked. Richardson told The Athletic he had been thinking about decommitting for weeks prior to Florida’s heavy pursuit of Beck, and he added he still communicates with Johnson. Intensifying efforts toward Richardson would be a logical next move for Florida. Other notable, uncommitted quarterbacks who have claimed offers from Florida include St. John Bosco (Calif.) five-star DJ Uiagalelei (he is linked heavily to Clemson and USC), Grayson (Ga.) four-star CJ Dixon and Hoover (Ala.) four-star dual-threat Robby Ashford. The coming weeks will shed light on seriousness of possible targets.
There’s enough time to be pragmatic and somewhat patient, then swoop in decisively when the fit is perfect and an opening exists. It happened plenty during the 2019 recruiting cycle for Florida.
And the approach worked for Beck and Georgia.
(Photo: Glenn Beil / USA TODAY Sports)