By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Carson Beck shocked the college football world by transferring from Georgia to Miami.

Georgia is an elite program and they won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Stetson Bennett was the quarterback of those teams but Beck took over as the starter in 2023.

Beck led the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record. The only loss was in the SEC Championship game to #8 Alabama, 27-24. I think they would have won the national championship if they were in the four team College Football Playoff.

In 2023 Beck passed for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and he completed 72.4% of his passes. In 2024 he threw for 3,485 yards, 28 TD’s, 12 interceptions and his completion rate was 64.7%.

He did get hurt on the last play of the first half in the SEC Championship game against Texas. He injured his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He had surgery on it in December and he is expected to make a full recovery.

I can’t put all of the blame for Beck’s regression in 2024 on him. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo took over for Todd Monken in 2023 after he left to coach the Baltimore Ravens. Bobo played quarterback at UGA and he was a college teammate of Kirby Smart. He has struggled this season with play calling though.

The 2023 team had two skill players that were drafted early in 2024; tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey. The 2024 team did not do a good job of replacing the talent they lost.

UGA’s receivers led all Power 4 programs with 31 drops. They also had injuries on their offensive line, allowing 1.79 sacks per game (58^th among FBS programs).

Cam Ward transferred to Miami from Washington State last season and he was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He passed for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and completed 67.2% of his passes. Watching Ward have that success probably played a role in the decision to transfer to the Hurricanes.

Beck is also reportedly going to make $4 million from Miami’s NIL collective. It is believed the number is closer to a little over $3 million.

Ward earned $1.6 million through Miami’s collective, which is not including additional deals with Bose, Adidas and others.

I’m sure the main reason for the transfer is his girlfriend, Hanna Cavinder, who plays basketball at Miami with her twin sister, Haley.

“Nice to finally meet you in person,” Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson told the 6-4, 220-pound gunslinger.

“So, when are you going to start throwing?”

Like Ward, Beck is motivated to increase his draft stock in his final season.

“Watching his success and what he was able to do and the position he’s in now (with the NFL Draft) made (Miami) very attractive to me,” Beck said Saturday when he emerged from Miami’s football offices about five hours after arriving on campus.

This move should also get more talented receivers to transfer to the U. They have already added LSU transfer CJ Daniels, who started 30 games in his career.

Initially I was shocked when I heard Beck was transferring from Georgia. There are only 3 or 4 other programs on par with the Bulldogs. I do think this move makes sense for him to showcase his talent and improve his draft stock.

This reminds me of Kyle McCord when he transferred from Ohio State to Syracuse last season. I thought he was crazy for leaving the Buckeyes but he played better at Syracuse. This could be a similar situation.