Just because a narrative is convenient does not mean it is correct. We need to pump the brakes on the idea that Carson Beck is a total redemption story, one who was cast aside by Georgia after tragically ruining his arm in the 2024 SEC Championship. Beck is, and was, a tremendous player. He has more than earned his right to play for a national championship, but this narrative is getting weird.
It may be perfect for Hollywood, or good enough for Ross Dellenger to pen, but is not a correct one...
“Carson Beck was as broken of a human I’ve seen. He didn’t want to go back to college. People ran him out. Very angry at the world.”
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 9, 2026
A year later, one of the most vilified players in the sport has resurrected himself - and The U.
Miami’s coming home.https://t.co/cVfp7kAA5M
Since we as a society cannot take things in stride to hear both sides of a story, we are destined to live in a world of lovers and haters, and that is so exhausting... Again, this is not meant to disparage Beck, but rather discuss the unique nature of his college career up to this point. He entered it with a ton of promise, but had to bide his time. Once he got a chance, he took advantage of it more often than not.
But the idea of him being a totally broken man coming into Miami is a tad ridiculous to even fathom...
Carson Beck is not a hero or anti-hero, he is merely a great quarterback
With this being Beck's sixth college football season, he initially came to Georgia in 2020. He backed up JT Daniels and Stetson Bennett IV initially. While backing up Bennett in 2021 and 2022, Beck saw first-hand what it takes to become a champion in college football. He took over the reins for Bennett full-time in 2023. Outside of the SEC Championship Game, he almost always delivered for Georgia...
That team was good enough to win a national championship, but did not even make the playoff. It was of the four-team variety then. Georgia fell from No. 1 to No. 6 by losing to Alabama by three points in Atlanta. Beck returned to Athens in 2024, pegged as the Heisman Trophy favorite and projected No. 1 overall pick in 2025. Instead, he lost to Alabama again, Ole Miss in a monsoon, and threw some picks.
When a 10-2 Georgia team got to the SEC Championship to take on everyone's favorite flavor of the month in Texas for the second time, Beck did not play well, again, only this time, his UGA career came to an end. An elbow injury suffered right before halftime rendered his arm useless. In came Gunner Stockton to relieve him. While Beck could no longer throw, he could still hand it off to Trevor Etienne.
So with Beck opting to turn pro after his up-and-down 2024 college football season, Georgia moved full-steam ahead with Stockton as its guy. Once it became crystal clear that Beck's services were no longer valued by the NFL at that time, he decided to enter the transfer portal, take even more NIL money from Miami than he was getting at Georgia, all to be with his girlfriend at the time. So villainous.
After working his way back from an elbow injury, Beck did play well initially for the Canes. He was quarterbacking the best team in the country, up until the point where he threw four picks vs. Louisville on a Friday night, and then threw his teammates under the bus right afterwards... Miami would lose a quintessential Mario Cristobal letdown game at SMU shortly thereafter because of a bad Beck pick.
Miami would go on to win the rest of its games. Finishing the regular season at 10-2, the Hurricanes were good enough to not play in the ACC Championship Game vs. Virginia. It was 7-5 Duke, who ended up beating the Hoos in Charlotte to be crowned ACC champions. Miami would end up being the last team to make the College Football Playoff because they beat 10-2 Notre Dame in Week 1...
So while Beck and the rest of the Hurricanes were always talented enough to get to this point, he is not the redemption story lazy writers and media pundits believe he is. Beck is just a really talented quarterback and far from a perfect person. We need to accept him as a flawed individual, trying to figure out this thing called life. You can root for him, or against him. You have that choice to make...
Ultimately, Beck is not easy to digest. He never has been, and he never will be. He was never going to be Bennett. Getting sandwiched between him and Stockton does portray him in a negative light. That being said, he has found a new home in Miami for the better. Like all three Georgia quarterbacks, he saves his best for when the moment requires it. He will put his foot in his mouth like Bennett, though...
To be quite frank, Beck perhaps best embodies what makes college football great and also agonizing.