A day after deciding he was heading back to college for one more season instead of entering the NFL Draft, Georgia transfer quarterback Carson Beck committed to Miami on Friday.
Go Canes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VPRLm3dKUH
— CB (@carsonbeck01) January 10, 2025
The 6-4, 220-pound Jacksonville, Fla., native underwent elbow surgery on his right throwing arm last month when he was injured in the SEC Championship Game. He’s not expected to be available for spring practices and likely will not begin throwing until the summer.
Beck went 24-3 as a starter for the Bulldogs and threw for 7,426 yards with 57 touchdowns and 23 turnovers. At Miami, he’ll replace Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward, who led the No. 1 scoring offense last season.
Beck is the No. 1 ranked player in The Athletic’s QB transfer portal rankings.
Ward was the No. 1 QB in the transfer portal last year and cost Miami’s NIL collective seven figures. Beck’s asking price was expected to reach a similar range.
Miami had Emory Williams waiting in the wings to take over for Ward. But the sophomore, who was recruited to the program by former quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce, struggled in the second half of Miami’s Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to Iowa State. Ponce is now at FIU.
The Hurricanes signed three-star recruit Judd Anderson in its 2024 class and signed four-star Luke Nickel in December. Both are from Georgia.
GO DEEPER
Carson Beck’s decision puts Beck, Georgia on opposite ends of a big 2025 storyline
Miami started 9-0 last season under Ward and rose to No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings before losing two of its last three regular-season games at Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Coach Mario Cristobal then fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry after the season.
Cristobal has been busy tinkering with the roster since. Miami is looking to add more experience at receiver in the portal. Cristobal is hoping Beck’s addition will entice more top-tier transfers to the program.
Offensively, Miami replaced talented second-year tight end Riley Williams, who returned home to Oregon State, with Alex Bauman, a 25-game starter at Tulane. Center Zach Carpenter has been replaced by TCU’s James Brockermeyer — who started all 12 games for the Horned Frogs. CJ Daniels, meanwhile, comes over from LSU and provides a veteran presence (30 career starts) to a really young group of wide receivers.
The Hurricanes bring back four starting offensive linemen and have two talented running backs in sophomore Mark Fletcher and freshman Jordan Lyle. Miami led the ACC with 5.7 yards per carry, up significantly from when Cristobal first took over in 2022 and the team ranked ninth in the league (3.7).
Miami hit the secondary hard in the transfer portal and probably isn’t done yet. All four defensive backs acquired — Ethan O’Connor (Washington State), Emmanuel Karnley (Arizona), Charles Brantley (Michigan State) and Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State) — started at least half of their team’s games last season, and three (Karnley, O’Connor and Poyser) have three seasons of eligibility left.
He also added defensive lineman David Blay, a first-team All-Conference USA selection at Louisiana Tech, to help make up for the loss of Simeon Barrow inside. Blay will team with returning veterans Akheem Mesidor, Bain and Moten.
(Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
