What kind of impact can Carson Beck have for Hurricanes? His high school coach explains
When Carson Beck made it official on Jan. 10 that he was transferring to the University of Miami, Bobby Ramsay sent a text to his wife.
“Season tickets?” the message read.
Ramsay, a longtime high school coach in Jacksonville, knows about Miami Hurricanes football. He has been a fan of UM since he was 6 years old. His dad earned his Ph.D. in communications at Miami and Ramsay “rooted for all the teams he rooted for” — including the Hurricanes.
Ramsay also knows about Beck. He coached Beck for his final two seasons of high school at Jacksonville Mandarin and watched as the quarterback flourished during the end stages of his prep career before starting his college career at Georgia.
Now, Beck is playing for Ramsay’s favorite college team. He enters as the heir apparent to Cam Ward, who broke just about every meaningful Hurricanes single-season record for a quarterback, led the country’s top offense and was a major reason Miami went 10-3 in his lone season at UM.
And if Beck is anything like the Beck that Ramsay remembers, the coach is confident he will be able to live up to the expectations that are about to be thrust upon him.
“I don’t mean to overstate it or be a prisoner of the moment,” Ramsay said, “but I think he could come in and have a similar impact to what Cam Ward had.”
That’s the hope for Beck, who like Ward bypassed the NFL Draft for one final season of college football and a chance to boost his draft stock. Ward went from a mid-round pick to potentially being the No. 1 overall pick this year because of his performance at Miami. Beck is hoping to rebound from a shaky 2024 performance at Georgia — one in which he completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns but also threw 12 interceptions and sustained a season-ending right elbow injury in the SEC championship — with a strong final collegiate season.
But one year earlier, Beck ranked in the top five nationally in completion percentage (72.4 percent, fourth) and passing yards (3,941, third) while leading Georgia to a 13-1 record. That’s the version of Beck Miami is hoping they have in 2025 — and the one Ramsay says is more indicative of the player he is.
“I think you’re going to see a guy who can make all the throws,” Ramsay said. “There’s not a throw he can’t make. And I think you’re also going to be surprised at his level of athleticism. People kind of sleep on that a little bit, but I’ve always said, even going back to high school, that he’s a lot better athlete than he’s kind of credited for. His athleticism might not show up in the same way that Ward’s did, where he may be in the pocket a little bit longer, but I think his ability to make a play with his feet when he has to is there as well.”
Ramsay saw it all firsthand while Beck was still in the early stages of his career. Beck transferred to Mandarin his junior season in 2018, which was Ramsay’s second year at the school. Beck was already being heavily recruited at that time, but Ramsay said it wasn’t until later in that season that “the play had caught up to the hype.” Beck ultimately led Mandarin to an 11-4 record and a Class 8A state championship over Miami Columbus — which happens to be Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal’s alma mater.
Beck completed 25 of 36 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns in that state title game to cap a year in which he threw for 3,546 yards and 39 touchdowns overall.
“There had been a ton of growth that year,” Ramsay said,” and credit him because it’s not he just read what everybody said about him and was like ‘Yeah, I’m a stud even though I haven’t really done anything yet.’ He really took it upon himself to get better.”
One of the big things that stands out to Ramsay about Beck: How he “loves what goes into being a quarterback.” That’s highlighted in his commitment to film study, the mental aspect of succeeding at the position and the understanding that the onus will be on him to rally his teammates together.
“He’s a kid who is going to come in every day, and he’s going to have an expectation level for what he’s going to expect from the guys around him,” Ramsay said. “He has to set the standard himself for what he does and how he goes about his business. He’s been through it all. I mean, there’s not much at this point in his career that he hasn’t experienced. He’s bringing everything to the table.”
As for seeing his former quarterback in person with his favorite team? Ramsay said season tickets probably aren’t in the works but he plans to get down to Hard Rock Stadium for “at least one, maybe two” games next season.
“I don’t want to make it about me,” Ramsay said. “With my ex-players, I want it to be about their happiness and them making the right decisions for themselves. But I’ll play a selfish card here for a couple days. It’s a thrill for me. I’m through the roof excited to see what he does.”
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