Coming off elbow surgery and the uncertainty for the Miami Hurricanes at wide receiver in 2025 have created questions about how good Georgia transfer Carson Beck can be for the Hurricanes. Andy Staples of On3 explained why his colleague Ari Wasserman left Beck off of his top 10 returning players in college football on their podcast.
Beck regressed nearly across the board in 2024 with most of his numbers going down from the 2023 season. In 2023, Beck completed 72.4 percent of his passes, for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 1.4 percent interception rate, 9.5 yards per attempt, 13.0 yards per completion and a 167.9 passer rating.
Beck completed 64.7 percent of his pass attempts for 3,485 yards, 28 TDs, 12 interceptions, a 2.7 interception ratio, 7.8 YPA and 12.0 YPC. Staples wondered if Beck's numbers decreased in part due to losing star tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
Staples wonders how Beck will perform for Miami with leading receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George completing their eligibility. Miami added C.J. Daniels as the projected WR one in 2025. The return of JoJo Trader and the likely addition of a second transfer WR for Miami in 2025 are critical.
"I think he’s hard to judge because he’s coming off elbow surgery...We don’t know what his arm is gonna be like coming off the injury and you have two sample sizes of Carson Beck. When he has two of the best pass catchers in Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, he’s awesome. When he doesn’t, he’s kind of okay. So, what’s Miami got? Xavier Restrepo..he’s gone. Jacolby George is gone. Can Miami replace that production in the receiving corps and give Carson Beck a chance to put up big numbers?"Andy Staples, On3
The addition of Beck was necessary after Emory Williams completed five passes in 14 attempts for 26 yards, no touchdowns and an interception in the second half of the 42-41 Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to Iowa State. Beck has the most upside for Miami at QB and is the unanimous top player in the 2025 transfer portal.
Mario Cristobal stated Beck is ahead of schedule in his injury rehabilitation. When discussing when Beck would be able to start throwing, Cristobal said "I know that certainly for the summertime, everything is scheduled to be full-go, but there is anticipation of maybe earlier."
Entering his sixth season of college football, Miami needs Beck to elevate the receivers as opposed to them elevating him as Staples observed in the podcast. Steve Samra of On3 projected Beck as the top pick in his 2025 NFL Mock Draft published in August 2024.
Beck needs to have a redemptive season in 2025 to reassert himself as a potential high first round pick in 2026. Cam Ward significantly improved in his one season with Miami in 2024. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson showed his ability to mentor Ward and help him improve. Beck will seek to emulate Ward in 2025.