Carson Beck never had plans to play college football during the 2025 season until an unexpected injury late in his career at Georgia altered his future. Beck, who led Miami to a national championship game appearance last month, said this week from the NFL combine that the Bulldogs already had their next quarterback in line when another opportunity within his own career was presented last January.
Beck suffered a serious injury during the SEC title game that caused him to miss the College Football Playoff. And rather than declare for the NFL Draft at that time, he entered the transfer portal and landed at Miami in a highly publicized move. The idea that there’s any animosity between him, Georgia coach Kirby Smart and his former program is false, Beck said.
“I feel like people kind of take that the wrong way,” Beck said of his transfer to Miami. “You look at the beginning of the 2024 season going into it, I mean, nobody envisioned that season going that way. I didn’t know I would get injured at the end of that season or that I would come back to college another year. That was not the plan, right? When the injury happened, I was going to the NFL. I had declared, I was going to go through the process and from that point on, I’m gone. Gunner [Stockton] is next up. When I decided to not go to the NFL and come back, I was going to go somewhere else.
“That’s kind of how it all worked out. There’s no bad blood. I’m really never sure where that came from. I love the University of Georgia, coach Smart, coach [Mike] Bobo, coach [Todd] Monken and all the other coaches I was able to have there and my teammates as well.”
Beck committed to the Hurricanes in January 2025 as the top-rated player in the transfer portal. He posted a 24-3 record as a starter for Georgia, throwing for 3,485 yards (fourth in the SEC) and 28 touchdowns (second in the SEC) in 13 games during the 2024 season before the postseason injury, along with inconsistent play, limited his draft stock.
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At Miami, Beck managed 3,813 yards and 30 touchdowns with a completion rate at 72.4%, helping the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss in the CFP before falling to Indiana in the title game.
“My time at Georgia was honestly such a growth period of my life,” Beck said. “What Coach Smart was able to instill, not only in me but the rest of my team, was unbelievable. Just the thing we did there, the skull sessions, the connection we built as a team. It’s something that was never fake, something that was very real in my eyes. The discipline and structure you learn just from being in that program. It’s not easy there, you’re working your tail off. I’m super grateful for coach Smart.”
Carson Beck’s connection to new Browns coach
Beck was Monken’s quarterback at Georgia for three seasons during his run as offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs. Over 34 total appearances under Monken’s tutelage, Beck threw for 7,736 yards with 56 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Could the two reunite now that Monken is coaching the Cleveland Browns?
Beck said his relationship with Monken started when he was a kid playing baseball with Monken’s son. The Browns are one of several teams that engaged in a formal interview with Beck, who said he would be “super stoked” to play for Monken in the NFL.
“He’s an amazing coach. I had the opportunity to talk with him a little bit the other day when I was done with all my interviews,” Beck said. “We walked and chatted for a little bit. I love Coach Monk. He’s an awesome coach and great guy.”
According to CBS Sports’ NFL Draft rankings, Beck is slotted as the seventh-best available option at quarterback and the No. 199 prospect overall.
“To get to this point, and to have the injury and battle through that and fight through that, and have the success of some of these great teams I’ve been a part of, it’s been a really cool experience,” Beck said in Indianapolis. “I’m obviously super blessed and grateful to even be able to stand in front of you today.”
In Cleveland, Monken inherits a franchise downtrodden by quarterback play in recent years. The former Baltimore Ravens OC said this month he plans to have an open quarterback competition this offseason between Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson.
Sanders and Gabriel were two of three starters last season for the Browns, who opened with veteran Joe Flacco as QB1. Watson did not play during the 2025 campaign after tearing his Achilles midway through the 2024 season and then suffering the same injury a few months later.
“I don’t know why it wouldn’t be an open competition, and I don’t mean that harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years, one way or the other, to say, ‘Boy, we have a starter at quarterback’ yet, whether internally or externally,” Monken said.