Exactly a year ago, all the super early mock draft boards had one quarterback at the top—Carson Beck. So, it was quite a surprise when Beck announced he was hitting the brakes on his NFL dream to return to college football. But here’s the even bigger shocker. Beck pulled a complete U-turn, not going back to Georgia but instead grabbing the steering wheel for Miami. Reports say Mario Cristobal handed him a hefty $4 million check to make it happen. Was it a good call? We’re still waiting to find out. Right now, Beck’s had limited spring practice thanks to an elbow injury from last season. College football analysts are already sounding the alarm, saying Beck needs to be at his absolute best. With the weight of that massive monetary offer on his shoulders, Cristobal, for his part, has broken his silence, explaining how he managed to pull off the impossible by bringing Beck to Miami.

“[T]here shouldn’t be these inequities between what guys are going to get offered. They should be closer to the same.” That’s what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about how things are falling into place in the NIL era. So, it was evident that Beck’s departure because of money left a deep gash in Smart’s heart. But was it only because of money? As going by the buzz, Beck was madly in love with Hanna Cavinder, the Miami Hurricanes basketball guard. As Cavinder shared after Beck’s commitment, “This isn’t a long distance thing anymore, God bless.” Whatever the reason, cash or heart affairs, Beck is now in Cristobal’s squad. And guess what? He’s drawing doubts from analysts, not their approval.

On the May 26th episode of the On3 podcast, host J.D. PicKell came up with a big question: “How quick is Carson Beck is really my first question on this thing because he’s missing all of spring practice. Now I care more about him missing spring practice than the average quarterback because Carson Beck is going to be in a completely new system.”

It has been a long time since Beck has been removed from some real gridiron action. He missed the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. The quarterback fell prey to an injury during the SEC Championship game against Texas. He then underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow to repair his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Post which Cristobal confirmed that Beck would not throw during spring. Now, this comes with a lot of disadvantages. 

The newcomer in Miami is yet to be exposed to Shannon Dawson’s scheme. Is it about his talent? Definitely no. “I don’t question the talent. I don’t think anybody actually questions the arm talent of Carson Beck. The question is how dialed in are you to what this offense is supposed to look like?” PicKell added.

Plus, the ceiling is quite high for Beck filling in Cam Ward’s shoes as his predecessor completed 19 of 24 passes, adding up to 324 yards, and connected for three touchdowns during the 2024 practice. Plus, PicKell came up with a reality check. “Carson Beck in this offense, too, it should be noted, has a lot less proven production around him.” The names that are raising heat are BYU transfer wide receiver Keelan Marion, 4-Star pass catcher Malachi Toney, and freshman Josiah Trader.

So, Beck is yet to have a protective net, and on top of that, he will have to step onto the gridiron and rage through it. After all, he needs to make Cristobal proud, who took a long road to bring him in. 

Heat rising for Carson Beck, but Mario Cristobal is not sweating 

Miami has been at the forefront of NIL and the transfer portal since it was instituted in July 2021. And adding Beck has indeed been a big upgrade, and Cristobal is happy with his move. As he said, “The best thing we got going for us in our culture.” On Josh Pate’s College Football Show, the head coach gave a recap of the negotiations made. “The very first one is, can we actually have a conversation? Because if we can’t even, like connect on a very simple, superficial basis, it might be harder to connect on a deeper level and go from there.”

Cristobal had to make the decisions quickly, since the window to woo the quarterback was very short. So what strategy did he take? He mentioned relying on several trusted individuals who spoke highly of Beck as a person, competitor, and player. In that report, Beck scored good marks as a team player, pushing himself to great limits for victory. Now, where does Miami stand?

In the first three full recruiting cycles under Cristobal, Miami has signed at least a top-15 class. The 2025 class is the 10th best. Here, Carson Beck leads a nearly entirely new passing offense for Miami, with the top six receivers moving on after 2024. So, it’s obvious that the Hurricanes’ soup is missing some seasoning (read: experience).

However, Cristobal downplayed any concerns. “I think it’s great what he’s gone through because in the end we will get the best version of Carson.” All eyes are on Beck to see if he can truly rise to the level Mario Cristobal believes he’s capable of.