Southeastern Conference Football Media Days
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Dallas, Texas, USA
Q. With the rules now allowing iPads on the sidelines, how do you think that will help you? Is it too much information overload? What kinds of advantages or disadvantages do you see?
CARSON BECK: I actually didn’t know that so that’s my first time hearing that. I’m actually super excited about that. That’s super cool.
I think going back and watching film this past year, I almost wished that we did have iPads on the sideline because there’s so many different situations that happened throughout a game, but when situations repeat, a lot of defensive coordinators end up going back to what worked before and they’ll repeat calls. So being able to see those things and maybe even having like a little — I guess you have one step or it feels like you might have one step on a defensive coordinator. If you see the look before if something doesn’t go right, they might go back to it, which happened a lot in our games this past year. I think that’ll be super cool to add that and be able to see that.
Q. In 2022 you were a backup in the National Championship game, and in ’23 of course you were a 14-game healthy starter. Talk about your progression as a quarterback and being able to stay healthy, how important that is.
CARSON BECK: Yeah. I think when you have such a good offensive line, I think we have a very strong offensive line, one of the best in the country, if not the best in my opinion, it helps me to be able to stay healthy. But as far as the quarterback goes, I think over the course of last year, if you go look at game 1 and then you look at game 14, it’s not even the same quarterback. Making the decision to come back this year, I’m excited to see what the progression from game 15 to whatever X amount of games we might play this year is going to look like.
Each game more confidence gets built, and that repetition continues to happen, you just become more comfortable within your offense and with your teammates and during the game. Very excited to see that progression continue to unfold.
Q. A couple of your top targets from last season are in the NFL now, Brock and Ladd, among others. Who do you anticipate stepping up among the wide receivers and tight ends this season?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, I think there’s so much depth on our offense and there’s so much talent that there’s not one or two names that I could really pronounce right now, which makes me excited as a quarterback. I’m very excited to see who those guys are going to be that step up and make those big time plays and those big time moments. We have a lot of big games coming up this year so who’s going to step up, who’s going to be that guy, who’s going to be the go-to guy, or is there one? Is everybody going to contribute equally, which is kind of what we saw last year. There’s a lot of guys that stepped up in different games and contributed.
Super excited for the depth that we have and all the talent that we have on offense.
Q. For Oklahoma’s football team and Oklahoma fans, can you describe how tough a road game is in the SEC for Oklahoma, and what is the toughest road game you’ve played in in the conference?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, obviously playing on the road in the SEC is very difficult. Every single game is going to be packed out. Being a top team in the country like we have been these past couple years, they’re going to show up and they’re going to give you your best. Every time we walk into a stadium we know they’re going to give their best and we know that that stadium is going to be packed out. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be difficult. There’s going to be communication problems. But you handle that in practice. You practice that. Then once you get in the game, you’re comfortable with it. But obviously, an SEC schedule is very difficult. I would say the hardest road game was my first one, was at Auburn. I’d never been on the road before as a starter. Obviously I had experienced road games from the sideline knowing how loud it is, but it’s different when you’re in the heat of it. When you’re thrown into the fire and you have to be the one to distinguish the fire. I’d say Auburn was definitely — it was very fun. I’ll say that. Although difficult, very fun, and I definitely enjoyed playing at that stadium.
Q. Texas is another team joining the SEC and they’re on your schedule. How much are you looking forward to welcoming them to the league, and then in the past in the Big 12 it was a penalty for horns down. The SEC that’s not the case. Is that kind of popular horns down gesture something you and your teammates would like to utilize?
CARSON BECK: I think Coach Smart would be upset if we did that. We’ll stay away from that one. But no, obviously we do have them on the schedule. I’m very excited to play — I’ve never been there before. I’ve never visited, never seen it. So very excited to play them. Obviously a very talented team and obviously have a tough schedule coming up, and we have some big road games against some really talented teams in cool environments. I’m always excited to go on the road and experience someone else’s environment, and I know we have a good schedule coming up. I’m excited about it.
Q. Bill Norton was a teammate of yours for a couple years at Georgia. I don’t know if you still talk to Bill and how well you got to know him at Georgia. Just thoughts on Bill as a person and as a player, and what kind of player is Texas getting with Bill?
CARSON BECK: We had a pretty good relationship when I was at the University of Georgia. My first visit he was on his official with two other guys that he came in with initially, so that’s actually one of the first people that I met at the University of Georgia. But I think he’s a great player and he’s a great guy. We always had a good time whenever we were together.
Q. You’ve got some ink on your left leg that says sky’s the limit with a shuttle. Why did you go with that and what’s it mean for you?
CARSON BECK: I think it’s self explanatory for me, like sky’s the limit is like there is no — like as far as progressing and getting into where I want to be, there is no limit. So if you shoot for the sky, there is no ceiling.
I feel like that’s kind of how I try to approach my game and myself as a person is that if I say the sky is the limit, it’s kind of self-explanatory. There isn’t a limit. It’s going to be never-ending progression. You’re just constantly trying to chase that.
Q. Now having the experience that you have of being a starter in this league, any advice for other quarterbacks now coming into the SEC for the first time about what it takes to excel as a quarterback in this league?
CARSON BECK: I think the biggest thing is preparing. For me, what gives me confidence is my preparation. So if I prepare the right way on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, then I’m confident going into the game because I don’t have anything to worry about. There’s no flaws, there’s no this. I might need to look for this or look for that, but I think having that preparation aspect is going to give you confidence once you go into the game because it’s going to be difficult. It’s not going to be easy no matter what week it is. You’re playing a talented opponent with a coach that is going to have his players well prepared for you. They know your tendencies, they know the plays you run. You’ve got to be prepared for what they’re about to bring at you. I would say preparation is the biggest thing that gives me confidence.
Q. Can you talk about the type of player Mykel Williams is and what he brings to the team?
CARSON BECK: Absolutely. Mykel is one of the most talented, gifted athletes that I’ve seen come through the University of Georgia, and that’s a lot, given the guys that have come before him at his position. He’s a top dog. He’s going to make plays in the backfield. He’s going to shed blocks. He’s going to be able to pass rush. Him having that ability to play on every single down and have such an impact that he has is what makes him such a great player.
Then beyond that, the guy that he is, the person that he is beyond the football field makes him even better in my opinion. No, he’s a great guy.
Q. You’re obviously a confident guy. How have you been able to balance that confidence year two as a starter Heisman Trophy candidate and not gotten overconfident at this point?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, for me I like to put my focus on the team around me and focus on what’s actually important. When you focus on the team and you really put other people before yourself and you are selfless and you focus on your wide receivers, you focus on the O-line, you focus on the tight ends, you focus on the defense, you focus on the team as a whole, it kind of takes all that outside noise and pressure of these individual awards and individual statistics and it puts it on, okay, let’s win this week and let’s win the next week and so on, so forth, and when those things happen and you can focus on the team and everybody on the team is on that same mindset, that’s when those individual kind of awards start to happen. Like I said, just focusing on the main thing and keeping that the main thing.
Q. Nick Saban was just talking about you on the SEC Network broadcast saying he knows you well from when you were committed there. How close were you to joining Alabama and what’s your relationship like with Coach Saban?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, obviously I was committed there.
I want to say it was my sophomore year of high school until just after my junior year going into my senior year is when I decommitted and committed to Georgia. I’d say I have a great relationship with Coach Saban, obviously one of the best if not the best college coaches of all time. His demeanor, the way he approaches the game, his intelligence level towards football, the respect that he demands from his players. I think we had a great relationship.
Obviously I never got to experience him actually being a coach, but from what I’ve heard and what I was able to see in building a relationship with him, he’s an amazing coach and an amazing person, as well.