Although Carson Beck was always going to have success quarterbacking the Miami Hurricanes for his final season of college football, the rest of the country learned was Dawg Nation already knew about the former Georgia quarterback. Beck was an unmitigated disaster at home vs. Louisville last Friday night, turning the football over four times, including on Miami's final possession of the game.
On the other side of the coin, last year's backup and Beck's successor at UGA in Gunner Stockton had his best peformance of his career. We are talking about four touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown, and no turnovers in Georgia's barn-burner home win over the Ole Miss Rebels. It has Stockton skyrocketing past Beck in the national pantheon of some significant quarterback rankings.
Here are the top 10 of the top 50 quarterbacks in David Cobb's weekly rankings over at CBS Sports.
- Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson
- Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza
- Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King
- Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby
- Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed
- South Florida Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown
- Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia
- Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore
- Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton
Stockton is in great company among the top 10. He moved up to No. 10 from ... No. 34 after his incredible performance vs. Ole Miss. On the other side of the coin, Beck's ranking plummeted after his disaster class of a performance at home vs. Louisville last Friday night. Beck is ranked No. 38 after having been ranked No. 12 the previous week. This is a week-by-week thing, but UGA is on a bye now.
Stockton may be the 10th best college quarterback in Cobb's eyes, but he could win the Heisman.
Gunner Stockton has surpassed Carson Beck as the better college QB
While there is still half of the season to be played, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is validated in trusting his gut instincts with Stockton, as opposed to letting Beck come back to Athens with his tail between his legs after the NFL said no. With this being Beck's final season of college football, the NFL awaits him in 2026 in some way, shape or form. Beck will get drafted, but he is not a first-round player.
This is because the man lives to turn the football over in bunches. He may look like a prototypical quarterback operating in and around the pocket behind the line of scrimmage, but Beck will constantly put the football in harm's way. With Stockton, he is more inclined to tuck it and run when he does not like the throwing lanes he has open. He still has room to go, as he will come back in 2026.
Overall, we have to applaud Smart's eye for quarterbacking talent. He went with Jake Fromm over Jacob Eason, Stetson Bennett IV over JT Daniels, and has now seen greater returns with Stockton at quarterback this season than he ever did out of Beck last year. Beck was a far better quarterback for Georgia during his first year as the starter in 2023 than he was a year ago. The picks were a problem.
For now, there is still room to grow with Stockton for the rest of this year and next with him at Georgia.