ATHENS — When Georgia takes the field on Jan. 1 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, it will do so without quarterback Carson Beck.

The Georgia quarterback will not be able to play in the game, with Pete Nakoos of On3 the first to report the new developments. Beck is not currently with the team as the Bulldogs have been practicing over the past week in preparation for the game.

Beck is dealing with a UCL injury in his elbow after sustaining a hit on the final play of the first half in the SEC Championship game. Georgia has not publicly commented on the status of Beck since stating that Beck is still weighing his options for treatment for the elbow injury.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Mark Schlabach and Chris Low added that Beck is exploring the possibility of surgery on the elbow, which would knock him out for the remainder of the season. Thamel added that Georgia is preparing to be without Beck for the entirety of its playoff run.

On the season, Beck has thrown for 3485 yards while completing 65 percent of his passes. He threw 28 touchdowns this to go with 12 interceptions. He has started the previous 27 games for Georgia, with the Bulldogs going 24-3 in those starts.

With Beck unavailable, Gunner Stockton will start in his place. Stockton filled in for Beck in the SEC Championship game, completing 12 of 16 pass attempts for 71 yards and an interception in the 22-19 win over Texas.

“I think his strengths are somewhat different than Carson’s, obviously, but we’ve known that,” Smart said. “We don’t think we have to change much in terms of that. He does give us the capability of doing some different things with his athleticism, and I thought Mike and those guys did a good job using that. The team has a lot of confidence in Gunner. He’s very smart, very intelligent. So I don’t know that it’s a lot of change. It’s probably more picking the volume correctly in terms of not having everything that we have with Carson, but having things that fit Gunner.”

Stockton will be making his first career start in the Sugar Bowl, which is set for Jan. 1 and an 8:45 p.m. ET kickoff. The Bulldogs have had some time off to help further prepare Stockton and integrate him into the offense.

Georgia will learn who it is playing on Friday, as the Bulldogs face the winner of Notre Dame and Indiana. That game is set for an 8 p.m. ET start on ABC.