Sports
Inside Carson Beck’s move from Georgia to Miami: NIL, injury timeline and optimism on offense
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — New Miami quarterback Carson Beck arrived on campus Saturday afternoon with a smile on his face, a brace on his surgically repaired right elbow and an eager offensive coordinator waiting to shake his hand.
“Nice to finally meet you in person,” Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson told the 6-4, 220-pound gunslinger who led Georgia to the SEC championship and a 24-3 record over the past two seasons as the Bulldogs’ starter before entering the transfer portal.
“So, when are you going to start throwing?”
What’s up coach? New Canes QB Carson Beck meets OC Shannon Dawson for the first time in person. @TheAthleticCFB pic.twitter.com/wLlkVPP6gR
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) January 11, 2025
Beck, who walked onto campus flanked by a person affiliated with Miami’s name, image and likeness collective, is reportedly set to make $4 million to start at quarterback for Miami this coming season. But The Athletic has heard through multiple sources briefed on his recruitment the number he’s set to receive from Miami channels is closer to a little over $3 million, roughly double the $1.6 million Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward earned through Miami’s collective (not including additional deals with Adidas, Bose and others) when he led the No. 1 scoring offense in college football this past season.
Beck, who won’t start throwing again for a few months due to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury he sustained in Georgia’s SEC title game win against Texas, was the only quarterback Miami’s coaching staff really wanted. Staffers told The Athletic he spent the day Saturday breaking down film with Miami’s coaches while freshmen and other transfers began moving in on campus.
Dawson was not excited about any other quarterback who had entered the portal or was expected to enter the portal this offseason. The Hurricanes liked Texas’ Quinn Ewers, but no one really knew what he was going to do once the Longhorns were eliminated from the College Football Playoff. NFL evaluators have projected Ewers anywhere from the third round to the sixth round. (Ewers told ESPN before Friday’s Cotton Bowl semifinal that he expected to leave for the NFL. Texas lost to Ohio State 28-14.)
Miami, meanwhile, spent time trying to gather as much information as it could about Beck once he declared for the NFL Draft in late December, on the chance he ended up in the transfer portal instead. Studying the film, Dawson felt Beck’s 2023 season was elite. This year, Beck didn’t play as well, but the Bulldogs weren’t as good around him, especially without Brock Bowers or Ladd McConkey catching passes. While Bowers and McConkey starred as rookies in the NFL, Georgia’s receivers led all Power 4 programs with 31 drops. The Bulldogs also dealt with injuries on their offensive line, allowing 1.79 sacks per game (58th among FBS programs).
Dawson also reached out to Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who had been Beck’s coach at Georgia from 2020 to ’22. Monken had nothing but praise for Beck, calling him an elite talent.
Beck doesn’t have the same demeanor as Ward — he’s quieter — but there aren’t many like Ward. The more Miami studied all its options, Dawson believed Beck was by far the best available. His quick release and accuracy stood out, as well as his ability to process. He’d played in a lot of big games and in tough situations. He also moves better than Ewers.
The other compelling factor: Beck, like Ward, is highly motivated to prove himself to NFL teams in his final college season. Miami believes it is putting Beck in a similar situation to flourish as it did with Ward, who also declared for the draft before deciding to return for another season of college football and transfer.
“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 told 247Sports Saturday when he emerged from Miami’s football offices about five hours after arriving on campus.
Adding another experienced receiver to the roster, though, is a priority. Miami has already picked up LSU transfer CJ Daniels, who has started 30 games in his career, and has blue-chip talents in Jojo Trader and Ny Carr entering their second seasons.
Landing Beck could help the Canes attract more talent. Miami coaches can’t count how many times receivers in the portal would ask them, Who’s gonna be your quarterback?
The rest of the offense isn’t in bad shape. Four starters are back on the offensive line, and Miami also picked up TCU starting center James Brockermeyer in the portal. Ex-Tulane tight end Alex Bauman, a big red zone target with seven touchdowns last season, will complement talented freshman Elija Lofton as middle-of-the-field targets. Miami’s backfield, which led the ACC with 5.7 yards per carry, brings back talented sophomore Mark Fletcher and speedy freshman Jordan Lyle.
Beck arrived in Miami on Saturday, the day after publicly committing to the Hurricanes.
Miami thought the only negative with Beck was his injury, which will sideline him for spring practice. Dawson talked to a handful of people who have dealt with the injury, including 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s private quarterback coach Will Hewlett. Purdy came back from a torn UCL and started throwing again some eight to 10 weeks after his surgery. All of the feedback Miami got said the same thing: Beck’s injury wasn’t that bad, and his recovery outlook is pretty clean. Beck, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, is expected to be around for spring ball to acclimate with his teammates and learn the offensive system.
Miami’s staff is still high on sophomore Emory Williams. In 2023, he beat Clemson in his first career start after an injury to Tyler Van Dyke and almost beat a Florida State team that went 13-1. But he didn’t look ready to take over for Ward when he replaced the Hurricanes’ NFL-bound QB in the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
After winning 10 games for only the second time since joining the ACC in 2004, Miami couldn’t go into Cristobal’s fourth season without a star at quarterback. But the Hurricanes didn’t want to take a guy just to take a guy.
In Williams, they believe they have a 6-5 prospect who is extremely accurate and made some big-boy throws to beat Clemson in 2023. The question, though, is whether he’ll stick around past the spring. Frank Ponce, the quarterbacks coach who recruited Williams to Miami, is now an assistant down the road at FIU. The Hurricanes have two other scholarship quarterbacks: 2025 blue-chipper Luke Nickel and 2024 three-star Judd Anderson, who both played their high school football in Georgia.
Miami’s personnel people charted dozens of potential QB transfer prospects. The verdict: It was not a good crop, not even as good as last year’s. Dawson probably ended up breaking down about 10 who merited deeper consideration.
South Dakota State’s Mark Gronowski, who had led the Jackrabbits to two FCS national titles, spoke with Miami. Dawson liked him and was going to fly up to Sioux Falls to see him, but the trip was canceled after he heard Gronowski might need surgery. Gronowski ended up signing with Iowa, and the Hawkeyes confirmed he would have surgery in the coming weeks and would not begin on-field workouts until June.
Miami native Fernando Mendoza was another possibility for the Hurricanes. The former Cal starter had committed to Indiana right before Christmas. But even two weeks later, some Miami folks believed Mendoza would come home if the Hurricanes offered him. The Canes staff liked him, but in their eyes, he didn’t have Beck’s talent.
When Beck’s camp let Miami know he was planning on entering the portal, the Canes figured they had a good shot. It helped that they had a track record with Ward, who had gone from a fifth-round draft projection to a potential top-10 pick, and also that Beck’s girlfriend, Hanna Cavinder, plays on Miami’s basketball team.
Saturday, Beck’s transfer journey from Athens to Miami reached its destination.
(Photos: Manny Navarro for The Athletic)
Watching junior right-hander Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly High pitch for the first time, there was something strangely familiar about his windup.
When he turned his back to reveal he was wearing No. 32, everything made sense.
He had to be a fan of Sandy Koufax, the 1960s Hall of Fame left-hander for the Dodgers.
Two friends sitting next to me refused to believe it.
“No way,” one said.
“Kids today have never heard of Sandy Koufax,” another piped in.
Only after Bravo threw a three-hit shutout to beat North Hollywood 3-0 was my belief vindicated.
“I come into the back with my arms and it’s a little bit like a Sandy Koufax kind of thing,” he said. “I wear 32 too. He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and was good in the World Series.”
Koufax was perfect-game good on Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, striking out 14.
Bravo started learning about No. 32 when his parents would bring him to Dodger Stadium as a young boy.
“I always saw No. 32 retired on the wall,” he said. “Once I got to know him, I was able to see who he really was. I felt I could really copy him and get myself deeper into history.”
Bravo is no Koufax in terms of being a power pitcher. He’s 5 feet 10 and 140 pounds. Since last season, when he changed his windup to briefly emulate Koufax’s arms going above his head, he has a 12-3 record. This season he’s 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA.
“I saw his windup and he looked like he was calm and composed and I tried it. I felt more of a rhythm. I was able to calm down and pitch better,” he said.
After Bravo’s arms go up over his head in his windup, he also does a brief hesitation breathing in and out before throwing the ball toward home plate.
“My dad always taught me to breathe in, breathe out before I do anything,” he said.
Nowadays, teenagers seemingly don’t pay much attention to greats of the past, from old ballplayers to Hall of Fame coaches. Ask someone if they know John Wooden, kids today probably don’t. He did win 10 NCAA basketball titles coaching for UCLA. And who was Don Drysdale? Only a Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher alongside Koufax from Van Nuys High.
Bravo is fortunate he’s seen Dodger broadcasts mentioning Koufax at the stadium and on TV, motivating him to learn more, which led to seeing his windup on YouTube.
His older brother also wore No. 32, so no one was getting that uniform number other than a Bravo brother at Poly.
There is another Bravo set to arrive in the fall. Julian Bravo will be a freshman left-handed pitcher and wants No. 32.
“While I’m there he’s going to have to find a new number,” Fabian Bravo said.
Julian might also want to help his big brother gain a few pounds at the dinner table.
“My brother takes food from me,” he said.
As for recognizing Bravo’s Koufax connection, it was No. 32 that provided the clue. How many pitchers in the 1970s were choosing No. 32? A lot. And it’s great to see a 17-year-old in 2026 paying tribute to one of the greatest pitchers ever.
Emulating Koufax is hard, but forgetting him is unforgivable.
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Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
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Star receiver Puka Nacua will fully participate in voluntary offseason workouts, the Rams are getting closer to another contract adjustment with quarterback Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead hope backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo decides to put off retirement and return for a third season and possible Super Bowl run.
McVay and Snead addressed those topics and the NFL draft on Tuesday during a videoconference with reporters.
Nacua led the NFL in receptions last season but also was involved in a string of off-the-field incidents the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. Those situations put the brakes on any immediate discussion between the Rams and Nacua about a massive extension for the fourth-year pro.
In March, Nacua began a rehabilitation program in Malibu, but he was present for the first day of workouts on Monday.
Nacua, 24, “looks great” and is “doing really well,” McVay said. McVay declined to detail discussions he’s had with the All-Pro, who was a finalist for NFL offensive player of the year.
“He and I have a great relationship,” McVay said. “Feel really good about kind of the direction we’re going.”
Stafford, 38, led the Rams to the NFC championship game last season and is the reigning NFL most valuable player. According to overthecap.com, he is due to carry a salary-cap number of $48.3 million this season.
But Stafford has no doubt demanded, and will receive, a raise and a possible additional year in a deal that the Rams acknowledged two years ago is essentially a year-to-year situation.
“Progress has been made,” Snead said of negotiations.
There is no timeline, Snead said, “but don’t expect any drama, per se.”
Garoppolo, 34, has backed up Stafford for two seasons, and he has been invaluable.
Last year, with Stafford sidelined for training camp because of a back issue, Garoppolo ran the offense and prepped the defense with a skillset honed during a 12-year career that included a Super Bowl appearance. Stafford joined workouts before the season and remained healthy throughout, but Garoppolo was perhaps the most valuable insurance policy in the NFL.
Last season, Garoppolo played on a one-year contract and earned $4.5 million, according to overthecap.com.
McVay expressed confidence in fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett, but said he was hopeful that “when the time is right,” Garoppolo will “change his mind,” and return.
“You leave the door open,” McVay said when asked if there was a point that Rams would press Garoppolo to return. “I don’t think you want to press. What you don’t want to do is ever force a guy to play if in his mind he’s ready to move on.
“But you don’t want to minimize that, ‘Hey, if you do decide you want to play, let’s make sure it’s here with us.”
The Rams have the 13th pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh. They have one pick in the second and third rounds, one in the sixth round and three in the seventh.
Receiver, offensive line and edge rusher are among the positions the Rams could address with their first top-15 pick since they selected quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
“There’s a lot of possibilities,” McVay said. “We don’t control what happens in those 12 picks before, and so what we’ve done is a lot of contingency planning and a lot of conversations, and feel really good about that.”
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