No matter how much Mario Cristobal has vouched for it, the Carson Beck era at Miami is still up for debate. Beck’s tumultuous past with the Bulldogs last season, where he doubled the interception count of 2023, is an open secret. Despite Kirby Smart vehemently backing him at the starting role, the popular narrative holds him largely accountable for the Georgia downfall. The salt in the wound was his season-ending right elbow injury that forced him to leave the gridiron during the crucial SEC championship game against Texas. He is still not ready to throw at Miami as the spring practice takes over. Now, the question is, even if he eventually gets there, can Miami solely depend on him with a rebounding season aspiration?
The Heisman hopeful quarterback has already been in the middle of a teen drama after his dramatic split with girlfriend Hanna Cavinder. Hanna, one of the familiar faces of the UM women’s basketball, has been largely under public scrutiny as they believe Beck chose Miami to be with her. Now, as they allegedly broke up, buzzes ramp up for another potential portal move of the former UGA quarterback. But even if he won’t go for that, can Beck be enough for the Miami offense to replace the output provided by the potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft—Cam Ward?
During the March 20th episode of the Locked on Canes podcast, Spencer McLaughlin dug deeper into that million-dollar question. ‘‘The biggest storyline around Carson Beck right now is not anything else off the field. You know what I’m talking about. It’s not anything with regard to his play on the field, even where you can ask questions after your year in which he regressed significantly. My question is, does he stay healthy the entire year?”
How has Beck fared injury-wise in his career? Well, in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Carson Beck was available for the entirety of both regular seasons, starting 27 total games. His 2024 injury happened in a postseason game. Per the timeline, Beck is near a return. Mario Cristobal said his new QB1 is getting plenty of reps and is doing pretty fine on the field but is yet to sling the ball.
While Beck’s athletic potential remains evident if we keep aside the few worst games of the past year, his ability to rise from the injury proneness and showcase enough resilience against the personal and professional battles will decide the fate of the Canes going forward.
But Spencer remains skeptical. Explaining more on his roller-coaster off-season saga, the insider added, ”Hit surgery right after the season, then declared for the draft, then went to Miami. The early reports were good, but if you tell me Carson Beck doesn’t stay healthy throughout the entire year, there’s no option on that Miami roster that anyone feels is at Carson Beck’s level that can push him to be the starter.”
Well, that will be a real death trap for Cristobal. Miami went 10-2 in 2024 and looks to fill the void of their biggest crown jewel, Cam Ward, in the QB room. Beck has such numbers and skillsets in his resume to be handed over to that role.
But the others? Cristobal has Luke Nickel and Dereon Coleman lined up in the QB room going forward, while Emory Williams and Judd Anderson can also be potential contributors. However, none of them is a finished product, so the risk will prevail, regardless. But it’s not just the Carson Beck factor or the overall QB scarcity that put the Canes on notice for another year concerning their playoff hope.
Miami will land on the other side of a schedule advantage in the ACC
Miami almost got themselves into the ACC Championship game last year, but somehow, later in that Syracuse game, they were left behind in the highly competitive college football playoff ranking. Now, this year, they can rest their unfulfilled playoff hope on Beck’s shoulder after Cristobal spent a big $4.5 million on him, but it’s still not more than a calculated gamble.
The schedule looks to be an added headache. ”Beyond the Notre Dame game, beyond the 10 and 2 factor, have you seen the Miami schedule? It stinks. It stinks for the Hurricanes. I think they got so unbelievably scre–d by the ACC. Now their bye weeks, are within three weeks of each other. They have to play seven straight games to end the year,” Spencer added woes to Cristobal’s not-so-arrayed QB room. They will get a very early test of their revamped offense during that opening game as the Irish will be a lot more aggressive in lifting off their natty miss-out grief.
”The last two of which are on the road; they have to go to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech and deal with Enter Sandman, and then they have to go to Pitt the last week of the year, who started last season 7-0, faded at the end, but still a pretty respectable team,” the insider weighed in on the other challenges on the road as Cristobal prepares to go full in on his playoff dream. Miami will also face a hard button against Louisville and Florida in a strange quirk of the schedule.
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