Mario Cristobal reveals his early impressions of Carson Beck in spring ball

On Monday, Miami had its first official spring practice. Transfer quarterback Carson Beck wasn’t able to physically participate since he’s still recovering from his UCL injury. However, Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal claims Beck still made positive contributions during the practice.

“As positive as you can have without actually having any kind of participation in live drills,” Cristobal said. “The things happened so fast and that one certainly happened a little bit faster and with less familiarity than the previous year, and so all that stuff I would say relationships and leadership, they do take time but everything from initially has been super positive. We’re really excited to see him healthy and working with our guys at full speed.”

Beck’s season came to a surprising end in December when he suffered a UCL injury on the final play of the first half of Georgia’s win over Texas in the SEC Championship.

Backup QB Gunner Stockton played the second half of the game and started for Georgia in its loss against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff.

Although Beck didn’t necessarily live up to expectations in the 2024 campaign, most fans expected him to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft after the season. Instead, he entered the transfer portal and committed to Miami just 24 hours later.

Now, all eyes will be on Beck after the Hurricanes saw immense success with transfer QB Cam Ward last season. Ward is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

As previously mentioned, Beck’s 2024 season didn’t go according to plan. The 6-foot-4 senior completed 64.7% of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns while throwing 12 interceptions.

For reference, Beck completed 72.4% of his pass attempts for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions in the 2023 season. Additionally, Beck recorded more rushing yards and touchdowns as a junior than a senior.

Nonetheless, Miami seemingly has no shortage of confidence in Carson Beck. The school signed Beck to a massive NIL deal, with some reports claiming the deal was worth as much as $10 million. In January, Cristobal raved about his new QB.

“He’s athletic, he’s smart, he’s got superior arm talent, he’s accurate, he can extend plays, he can also sit in the pocket, he runs well,” Cristobal said. “He’s a great human being and he’s demonstrated leadership qualities. He’s really hard on himself, he wants to be great and one of his best qualities is that he wanted to be at Miami.”