There is nothing more important in recruiting than keeping the hometown guys at home, but also keeping in-state guys within state lines. Granted, these guys want to venture out, but for a head coach, when a good recruit leaves, it is pretty tough to deal with.
That seems to be the case for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal when it comes to NC State quarterback CJ Bailey. Bailey is from Hollywood, Florida, which is less than an hour car ride from the University of Miami, a place that showed real interest in Bailey.
Bailey instead chose to leave Miami and the state of Florida altogether to go and play for the Wolfpack. Well, now Miami is set to take on NC State this weekend, and Cristobal has to face a quarterback he was hoping to snag on the recruiting trail.
Mario Cristobal could be playing with CJ Bailey over Carson Beck right now
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal on NC State quarterback and South Florida native CJ Bailey:
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) November 11, 2025
“We know him. Certainly a local product that has developed into a great player.” pic.twitter.com/t4boimWeeO
Quarterback Carson Beck has been solid for the Miami Hurricanes this season, but in both of their losses, Beck's performance has played a key part. When Miami lost to Louisville, Beck had four interceptions. In the loss to SMU, Beck also struggled early in the game, putting the Hurricanes in a hole.
There is no changing the fact that Beck is the Hurricanes quarterback, but Cristobal could be wondering what could have been. When talking about NC State in his weekly press conference, Cristobal had some high praise for Wolfpack QB CJ Bailey, a Florida native.
"Just really dynamic, we know him, certainly a local product that has developed into a great player," Cristobal said. "Can do it with his arm, extremely accurate, can do it with his feet."
Bailey has been the biggest part of NC State's stellar offense this season. Bailey is just two yards away from surpassing his passing yards from last season, with 2,411, and has already thrown more touchdowns and fewer interceptions with 19 TDs and seven interceptions.
In comparison to Beck, the Georgia transfer has 2,194 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, which are all worse than Bailey's. There certainly is a wonder on this side of what could have been if Bailey had chosen the Hurricanes.