Georgia football QB Carson Beck injured his UCL in his right elbow on the final play of the first half in the SEC Championship game. At this time it is still unknown how bad of an injury this is and how long he will be out for, but the consensus is that he will likely be out for the rest of the season based on Georgia's official statement on Tuesday.
So while we wait to get an official word on Beck's status, what do medical experts have to say about UCL injuries? They are not as common of an injury in football as compared to basedball where it is very common in pitchers, but there is still a history of this injury in football that gives us a good idea of what Beck could be facing.
One doctor specifically commented on Beck's injury and the difficulties that he will face in his recovery.
“Certainly different throwing mechanics when it comes to throwing a football versus throwing a baseball,”Travis Patterson, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group said in an interview with DawgNation. “There is also different levels of repetition and different levels of the amount of force required when throwing a football versus a baseball. There is less strain that the ulnar collateral ligament sees from a football quarterback. And so this is certainly not an injury that is talked about as much. It is usually more of a traumatic injury as in the setting of Carson Beck and having someone striking the arm as it is to a velocity and throwing type injury.”
Different timelines based on severity
There are also three different severities for a UCL injury. This includes grade one which is just considered a sprain, grade two which is a partial tear and grade three which is a complete tear.
At this time we do not know which grade Beck's injury is, but Patterson went on to discuss the differing timelines for a return based on the severity of the injury.
“There is a lot of variability with those types of injuries and timelines to recovery,” Patterson shared. “Obviously the more significant the tear, the more time to recovery typically. If it is a grade 1 sprain of the ligament, it may be something that is back and feeling better in a matter of weeks. Whereas if it is partial tear or complete tear, we are generally looking at 6-12 weeks before that ligament has healed to a certain degree. And then more time added on to that for the recovery process and rebuilding strength.”
So in a perfect world, Beck's injury would be considered a grade one injury meaning he could be back later this season. If it is a grade one injury, he still likely won't play in Georgia's quarterfinal matchup on Jan. 1, but there is a chance he could be back for their potential semifinal and National Championship game.
But if Beck's injury is a grade two or three tear, then he will not make a return this season. On the bright side for Beck however, he will be healthy in time for the start of next season. So his future playing career shouldn't be impacted too much by this injury.
With or without Beck, the expectation should be for Georgia to win a National Championship. If they can come from behind and beat Texas with Gunner Stockton playing in the second half of the SEC Championship game, then they can definitely beat anyone in the College Football Playoff.