So here’s a wild thought.

Carson Beck is the same recruiting class as Bryce Young. As in Young, who soon might end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft after 2 years of solidifying himself as one of the best college quarterbacks of the 21st century. Beck was committed to Alabama until flipping to Georgia in March ahead of his senior season.

Another wild thought? Beck is only a year younger than Bo Nix. As in Nix, who will be the ultimate “HOW DOES HE STILL HAVE ELIGIBILITY?!” guy in 2023 when he’ll be in Year 5 as a college starter (the 2020 COVID season is how he still has eligibility).

That title used to belong to Stetson Bennett IV. The 25-year-old is, last I checked, finally out of eligibility. That means it’s finally Beck’s turn to become Georgia’s QB1.

Don’t get it twisted. I’m not saying it’s a given that Beck wins the job. Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton will have a say in that. If Kirby Smart recruited a transfer portal quarterback, I don’t think it would be a stunner, though that could depend on how he feels about Beck.

Remember, Georgia didn’t sign a quarterback in its 2023 class (yet) after whiffing on the Arch Manning sweepstakes. That’s rare in this era for an elite program, as is having a trio of former blue-chip recruits in a quarterback competition. If Beck (or anyone) assumes it’s his job simply because he has the most experience running Todd Monken’s offense, I think that’d be disrespectful to Vandagriff and Stockton.

But at the same time, this is everything that Beck has been waiting for.

There’s no longer a more established veteran (Bennett) or a more promising transfer portal quarterback (JT Daniels or … Jamie Newman) blocking the path to starting. There’s a chance to start for what’ll likely be the preseason No. 1 team in America.

What more can you ask for?

This is why Beck stayed in Athens instead of seeking another opportunity. For a guy who essentially played exclusively in garbage time, Beck was fortunate to get 35 pass attempts on just 89 snaps in 2022. He even had a pass play called on 1st down up 39 against Oregon. Dating to the spring game, every bit of live action that we saw from Beck suggested that he’s more than capable of filling the ginormous shoes left by Bennett. In 7 games in 2022, he completed 74% of his passes for 8.9 yards per attempt with 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Even his incompletions showed promise:

That Vandy game was the best of Beck’s career, though he wasn’t even the headliner that day because Arik Gilbert had his first (and last) catches in a UGA uniform.

Beck has a leg up on Vandagriff, who has yet to record a completion on 3 attempts in 2 years at the FBS level. In 2022, Vandagriff was clearly QB3 based on his 11 snaps, which included 2 incomplete passes and 1 rush for 7 yards. I say that not to knock the former 5-star recruit, who certainly presents a more mobile option for UGA, but I think it’s important to remember that reps carry more weight than coach-speak about a non-starting quarterback.

Speaking of coach-speak, here’s what Smart said about Beck after that aforementioned Vandy performance (via Rivals).

“Carson’s done a nice job. He studies and, as is always the case with the backup quarterback, they’ve got to be prepared for every game,” Smart said in October. “They don’t know if things will happen and if they’ve got to go in. He does a really good job doing that, and I think we do a really good job of managing his reps and getting him the looks he needs to prepare and develop.”

Smart added that Beck “has done everything we’ve asked of him.”

What Georgia is about to ask of its 2023 starter is to make sure the program doesn’t take a step back after what I’d consider the best offense in school history (look a little closer at the numbers if you disagree with that). Between Brock Bowers, AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett, Georgia’s most proven offensive unit is the pass-catchers. The program who finally had its first top-40 passing offense of the post-Aaron Murray era should continue to function as a versatile, explosive unit who can adjust based on game flow and/or what a defense is giving up.

Smart has typically ignored recruiting star rankings and rewarded loyalty with his quarterbacks. At the same time, he’s about as vague as it gets when it comes to tipping his hand on all things quarterback hierarchy. This is the same guy who wouldn’t even outwardly commit to Jake Fromm as his QB1 to start 2018 after he led the program to its first national championship berth since the Herschel Walker era. We shouldn’t expect that to change.

What’ll likely change by September is the dynamic in the Georgia quarterback room. Right now, Beck deserves to be considered the favorite. Maybe spring will change that. It’d be surprising if Beck, Vandagriff and Stockton were all still on the roster by Sept. 2 when the Dawgs host UT-Martin. Perhaps for the first time, we’ll even see Smart carry a quarterback battle into the regular season. That’s the benefit of having UT-Martin in the opener.

But even in the likely event that Smart plays this close to the vest, Beck is in the most favorable spot he could be for a Year-4-to-be guy who doesn’t have a career start. Quietly this season, he took an important step closer to an ideal situation. Dare I say, Beck’s time might finally be coming.

Well, that’s assuming Bennett really is out of eligibility. I’ll believe it when I see it.