Carson Beck’s Georgia chapter is proof that, along with talent in college football, you need luck too. December 7, 2024, is a date Bulldogs fans won’t forget anytime soon—Beck went down with a right elbow injury. And ever since, his health has been under constant doubt. Now, character concerns have entered the chat too. That’s the kind of buzz that drags a quarterback to a Shedeur-like fate in the NFL—huge talent, but off-field baggage. And this isn’t the kind of update Miami head coach Mario Cristobal wants to deal with right now.
Believe it or not, Beck ranks as the sixth-highest passer in Georgia Bulldogs history. But his receivers didn’t make life easy. The Bulldogs were without two of their biggest weapons: two-time Mackey Award winner TE Brock Bowers and All-SEC wideout Ladd McConkey. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy summed it up best: “What’s amazing to me, though, is that there are so many people that have pointed all of Carson Beck’s flaws out without acknowledging the inconsistencies of not just his wide receiver core, which led the country in drops.” Still, there’s another side to Beck—the locker room one.
Last week, former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray revealed concerns about Beck’s off-field behavior and maturity. He noted a clear “disconnect” with teammates, who reportedly rallied more around then-backup Gunner Stockton. Apparently, Beck had too much noise around him.
On the June 6 episode of the Saturday Down South podcast, the big question was how Beck handled the injury, the portal rumors, and everything else around him. And this time too, Murray didn’t hold back. “I think he’s handled it pretty poorly to be honest.”
He continued, “Georgia fans know how I feel about Carson since the first time I saw him throw football three four years ago. I knew he has all the talent in the world. I don’t think anyone questions Carson’s ability to throw the football, to play the quarterback position. You know there there’s a reason why he was slated to be the number one quarterback off the board preseason of last year.”
Despite all that talent, Beck’s 2024 season was marred by inconsistent play and team struggles. He had 665 drop yards—meaning he would’ve added that much more to his stat sheet if his receivers had caught the ball. He also threw 12 interceptions, which certainly didn’t help the optics.
Murray added, “So you’re still talking about a guy even with how bad last year went at times, probably still would have been somewhere in that second or third round if he didn’t get hurt. I love the fact that he came back. That’s obviously going to improve his draft stock when it’s all said and done. I don’t like all the distractions. I don’t like what I’ve heard from the locker room, that at times he was not one of the guys in the locker room, that was more concerned with making Tik Toks. Or being with his celebrity girlfriend. Obviously the drama in the offseason with said girlfriend and everything else is like, if I’m an NFL GM or coach or offensive coordinator, I need my quarterback locked in.”
Back in July last year, Carson Beck made his relationship with Miami basketball star Hanna Cavinder official, around the July 4th weekend. She even wore a custom Georgia crop top to one of his games and shared photos on the field with him. Their relationship blossomed while Beck was still in Athens—and some fans believe this played a part in his decision to join Cristobal in Miami. But things took a sharp turn in March. After reports of a breakup, Beck found himself trending again—for the wrong reasons. A screenshot of an inappropriate Snapchat message he allegedly sent to a random follower went viral.
So Murray added, “You’re the leader of the football team. I don’t need you out here being headline news for off-the-field stuff. So I think there’s some maturity which is hard to say for a guy that’s been in college football for so long, but I think that there’s still more growing up that Carson needs to go through and maturing to know what it means to be a professional.”
For Beck, the comparison to Shedeur Sanders feels more real now. Shedeur’s draft stock slipped due to off-field distractions—whether it was rapping, watch flexing, or drama online. And this just adds more pressure for Coach Cristobal, who’s already in a tough spot.
Carson Beck arrives in Mario Cristobal’s squad; so does the chaos
The beginning of this year came with good news for the Miami head coach. They successfully snatched Beck away from Georgia. But at the same time, the Hurricanes found themselves entangled with a mass exodus of coaches.
They fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry on New Year’s Eve. After this, the Hurricanes lost their defensive line coach, Joe Salave, cornerbacks coach, Chevis Jackson, and linebackers coach, Derek Nicholson. Four months later, stability is something Cristobal is still looking for in his coaching roster.
David “Pop” Cooney, who served as Miami’s director of recruiting for three of those years before spending his final two seasons with the program as an assistant wide receivers coach, has also hit the exit doors. While the Hurricanes were yet to turn their heads around to this news, another blow came.
Miami lost its strength coach on Saturday, June 7, as former Oregon Ducks strength and conditioning coordinator Aaron Feld announced that he is stepping away from the program. Just when Cristobal thought it couldn’t get worse, he now faces the challenge of protecting Carson Beck better.
On the On3 Recruits podcast, J.D. PicKell pinpointed the need of the hour for Mario Cristobal. “I don’t question the talent. I don’t think anybody actually questions the arm talent of Carson Beck. The question is how dialed in are you to what this offense is supposed to look like?” He further added, “Carson Beck in this offense, too, it should be noted, has a lot less proven production around him.” Cristobal’s plate is full—he needs to lock down his staff and bubble-wrap Beck before the pressure hits peak.
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