With all good stories, there needs to be heroes and villains. It's no different in college football, although it's often much easier to spot the villains than the heroes. For the 2025 season, an early candidate for the sport’s bad guy could be new Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck.
No villain ever starts out that way—it's the narrative around them that shapes who they become. And that's what's begun happening to Beck.
Beck became the heir apparent at Georgia after Stetson Bennett led the Bulldogs to two straight national titles. His first season as a starter built him into an early Heisman Trophy contender and raised high draft projections.
Last season didn't pan out as well for Beck, as he struggled, though it could be argued that the playmakers around him did him no favors. He tied for the lead in interceptions in the SEC with 12 and eventually suffered a season-ending injury.
Initially announcing that he was entering the 2025 NFL Draft, Beck took a U-turn—not back to Athens, but farther south to Coral Gables, joining the Hurricanes as the top transfer out of the portal.
Ever since then, the transition for Beck from a mere talented quarterback to potential villainous figure has been in overdrive, as CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah explains:
Beck hasn't done anything wrong, but fair or not, he is set to become the face of college football's NIL era. He transferred to Miami, perhaps the most aggressive NIL program in the country. He's dating Hanna Cavinder, a Miami women's basketball player and TikTok star. He had not one but two luxury cars stolen and is making so much money that he turned down the NFL Draft.
All Beck has done over the past two years is put his head down and post great numbers, but it doesn't matter. All eyes will be on him. And by the way, I expect him to deliver. It's frankly ridiculous to me how much his stock sunk after essentially every unit at Georgia struggled around him, and I also expect him to be a first-round pick.
- Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Often, when it comes to sports, what draws the ire of fans is that people like Beck have things they don't—and not only that, they flaunt them.
Think about it: Beck gets to live in the luxury stylings of Miami, set up shop in a mansion with his famous girlfriend, and drive around in fancy cars. The fact that he now plays for one of the most historically hated teams in the country, "The U," is just an added bonus.
The only thing that would halt Beck from becoming a full-blown villain next season is if he doesn't help Miami win games. In that case, the only people who would dislike him would be Miami fans.