Carson Beck has changed his mind faster than his Lamborghini can get to top-speed. After initially declaring for the NFL draft, Carson has pulled a stunning U-turn. He’s now headed to southern Florida to play out his final year of collegiate eligibility with the Miami Hurricanes. Carson’s time with the Georgia Bulldogs included moments of greatness and moments of growth alike. However, credible reports reckon he’s leaving Athens on a sour note.

Carson Beck’s propagating mixed or even negative emotions among the Bulldogs’ faithful is fathomable. Yes he’s a champion, but wasn’t a contributor. The two seasons he was atop the QB depth chart coincided with Georgia’s 2 relatively bad seasons in the Kirby Smart era. The standards were just that high. Back-to-back CFP appearances and an SEC championship manage to fall flat in comparison to Carson’s predecessors. That said, he’s individually got more tools in his arsenal than, say, Stetson Bennett. He wasn’t the weakling. The receiving Corp. was just more fractured after Bowers and McConkey ascended to the pros. Kirby Smart could have done with another year of Carson’s services. In fact, Coach Smart himself concurs.

According to senior CFB writer Matt Hayes’ intel, Kirby Smart was the first coach to contact Carson Beck after he chose to forgo the draft and hit the portal. This revelation is actually contradictory to what CBS Sports and 247Sports have reported. It has come to light that Carson ruffled some proverbial features in the final stretch of his time at Georgia. The break-up between the two parties was far from clean.

The aforementioned news outlets suggest Kirby Smart and the powers that be were upset with how Carson bailed on the team during their prep for the Sugar Bowl. He was seeking consultation on his injured elbow out on the west coast and in Texas instead. His deputy Gunner Stockton probably could’ve done with some tutelage at that juncture. To add to this, he arrived in NOLA for the game a day later than the rest of the team and, therefore, skipped media day. “Some within the program that week seemed ready to move on from Beck, whose personality and headline-grabbing relationship with Miami basketball star and TikTok sensation Hanna Cavinder had become a distraction and a source of frustration for some teammates,” read an excerpt from the CBS report. These details and sentiments were also relayed by Chris Gordy of the “Locked on SEC” podcast. 

It’s difficult to discern which of these two contradictory bits of reporting are true. One says Georgia wanted Carson Beck back, and one says his departure was seen as good riddance. Alas, he’s headed to Miami to write one final chapter in his CFB career. Sensationally, Georgia wasn’t the only southeastern powerhouse in the running for Carson.

Alabama tried to hijack Carson Beck as an ideal Kalen DeBoer QB

If Georgia had a poor season by their standards, then so did Alabama. Year 1 of the Kalen DeBoer era left a lot to be desired. Their pursuit of a more prosperous 2025 is undercut by a void under the center, though. QB1 Jalen Milroe has left for the NFL himself, and there is no bankable replacement in the wings. DeBoer likes passing-style offenses which was a huge part of his directive at Washington with Michael Penix Jr. and Rome Odunze. Milroe didn’t really suit that, but Carson Beck definitely would’ve.

Matt Hayes claims Bama was the 2nd team to contact Carson Beck and his camp after the news of a return broke. However, he ultimately entered the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag, as per the aforementioned Chris Gordy. This signifies that Carson’s decision to go to Miami was already made prior to entering the portal. This would actually be adjacent to tampering, something Miami is allegedly involved in with another star athlete.

Whatever your opinion of Carson Beck, he’s perceived better than 90% of QBs at the college level. This is evidenced by how many and what calibre of teams pursued him. As well as the $4 million in NIL money he’s supposedly commanding. In the end, Miami probably made the strongest push and won since their need was the biggest. Cam Ward leaving could’ve potentially put the whole program in disarray. However, Mario Cristobal will be pleased to have another quality veteran QB to work with. Conversely, Carson will be closer to his girlfriend and, well, be in Miami over Athens and Tuscaloosa.