Carson Beck is ninth in the "College football quarterbacks rankings: Our top 25 list is dominated by SEC, Big Ten" recently published by USA Today. USA Today acknowledged "replacing the top overall draft pick (Cam Ward) might seem daunting" but that Beck dealt with high expectations at Georgia.
Beck was 24-3 as a starter at Georgia after succeeding two-time national championship-winning QB Stetson Bennett. Miami has an entirely new wide receivers core to work with Beck after losing their top six receivers from 2024. Miami has reloaded primarily through the Transfer Portal.
Beck could have had better numbers in 2025, but Georgia led the nation with 36 drops and was 59th nationally, allowing 1.79 sacks per game. Miami was 56th, allowing 1.77 sacks per game in 2024. Miami allowed sacks on 4.4 percent of dropbacks in 2024 and Georgia 4.8.
Beck brings a history of performing in big games to Miami. The only Georgia losses with Beck as the starter were 27-24 to Alabama in the 2023 SEC Championship Game that cost the Bulldogs a spot in the final four-team College Football Playoff, 41-34 to the Crimson Tide and 38-10 to Mississippi in 2024.
"Beck is no stranger to lofty expectations. He arrives in Coral Gables with plenty of potential but some baggage as well...His final numbers from 2024 were solid enough 3,485 passing yards, a 64.7% completion rate and 28 TDs. But many of his 12 interceptions resulted from trying to force the action, a habit he’ll need to break if the Hurricanes hope to be in the playoff picture."USA Today
Nine of the 12 interceptions thrown by Beck came in a four-game stretch in the middle of the 2024 season, with the other three in the loss to Alabama. In the other eight games, Beck threw 20 TDs and no interceptions. In the last three regular season games, Beck threw 11 TDs and no interceptions.
Cam Ward threw 39 TDs and eight interceptions in 2024. Playing three different QBs in 2023, Miami had 23 TD passes and 14 interceptions. Expect Beck to be far closer to the numbers produced by Ward in 2024 than the conglomerate of Miami QBs in 2023.
Cam Ward came to Miami with a reputation for frequent turnovers. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson was able to help Ward minimize turnovers in 2024 to become a Heisman Trophy finalist. Beck is 15th in the FanDuel Heisman Trophy odds. It would not be surprising for Beck to be a Heisman Trophy finalist.