How Hurricanes’ Carson Beck is building bonds with teammates despite being limited in practice
Ryan Rodriguez got his first true glimpse of just how good Carson Beck could be when the two were both still in high school.
During his sophomore year, Rodriguez and the Columbus Explorers played Beck’s Jacksonville Mandarin Mustangs in the FHSAA Class 8A state championship. Beck, a junior, threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns in Mandarins’ 37-35 win.
“It was crazy,” said Rodriguez, an offensive lineman. “He could throw the ball.”
Seven years later, Rodriguez and Beck are now teammates at the University of Miami. Rodriguez stayed home for the entirety of his college career, while Beck transferred over the offseason to UM from Georgia for his final season of eligibility.
Beck hasn’t begun throwing the ball just yet. He’s limited to start spring practices while recovering from right elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL sustained during the SEC Championship Game in December.
In the meantime, he’s doing what he can to be active in practice, mimicking the drills the other quarterbacks are doing. He’s also forging a bond with his teammates so that there is an established relationship once he is finally fully in the fold.
“Obviously it’s a unique situation, surely,” Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said, “but his football IQ is really high. You can tell just in meetings and talking football with him, and I think it’s important for him to just get injected with the team — just be around and be around those guys and build rapport. The way football is now, it’s different every year, right? So the team building part of it’s huge. We’ve got to just accelerate that as much as possible.”
Beck has taken some of that into his own hands. He invited a group of teammates to his house for a Super Bowl party. He is spending extra time in the film room and making conversation during down time.
By all accounts, he has made a good first impression upon his teammates.
“He’s definitely a leader,” sophomore tight end Elija Lofton said. “Even though he’s not practicing right now, he still talks to me about routes and the game. He’s still watching everything and tell me what he sees. He tells me how if he was in what he would want me to do.”
Added junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr.: “He’s just a cool guy. Very humble. Can’t wait to see him throw that thing.”
The rest of the Hurricanes can’t wait either. Beck is set to replace Cam Ward, who like Beck transferred to Miami for his final season of college football in an attempt to raise his draft stock. It worked out well for Ward, who last season was a Heisman Trophy finalist after setting the Hurricanes’ single-season school records for completions (305), passing yards (4,313), passing touchdowns (39) and completion percentage (67.2 percent). He could potentially be the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s NFL Draft.
Beck is hoping for a similar type of breakout after taking a step back in 2024. After being viewed as a top pick entering the 2024 season, Beck last season completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns but also threw 12 interceptions — tied for the most among quarterbacks at Power 4 schools this season — before sustaining the elbow injury.
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.
“Last year, I feel like he got a lot of hate,” Rodriguez said. “There was just so much media on him, so much hate, and it’s not warranted, but whatever that’s besides the point. He’s gonna do great. He’s just waiting on his time. He’s healing up.”
Teammates are already seeing some similarities between Ward and Beck.
“They’re both alphas,” Fletcher said. “They’re both alphas for sure. … They know what they can do. They know that they’re a factor and they can just sling it.”
Now it’s just a matter of when Beck will actually be able to sling it. Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal on Monday said there’s a chance he could be throwing by the end of spring practices, which conclude April 12 with the team’s spring game.
Until then, Beck is doing anything and everything else to get ready.
“It’s as positive as you can have without actually having any kind of participation in live drills,” Cristobal said. “Things happened so fast — and that one certainly happened a little bit faster and with less familiarity than the previous year. All that stuff, I would say relationships and leadership, they do take time, but everything initially has been super positive. We’re really excited to see him healthy and working with our guys at full speed.”
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