Mark Richt busts Carson Beck's chops on similar journey from Georgia to Miami: 'You got paid more'

This past January, Carson Beck surprised many around college football when he opted to forgo the 2025 NFL Draft and instead transferred from Georgia to Miami for his final collegiate season. While not the most conventional of moves, it’s one that’s actually been done before — by former Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt.

And during an appearance on the ACC Network desk Tuesday at the 2025 ACC Media Days event in Charlotte, Richt made sure to point out their similar career paths, with a little dad humor thrown in for good measure.

“Well I was just going to say, of course, you were at Georgia and went to Miami. I was at Georgia and went to Miami. The only difference is you got paid more than I did,” Richt said as the set erupted in laughter.

“I don’t know about that,” Beck said, laughing himself.

Richt quickly countered: “If you go year-by-year, I think you’ve got me by about a million.”

NIL jokes aside, it was an interesting move for Beck, who left Georgia after two years as the Bulldogs starting quarterback for sunny Coral Gables. The 6-foot-4 Beck steps in as the Hurricanes’ QB1 replacement for Cam Ward, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after just one season at Miami.

Of course, it was a move that also made financial sense with a reported $6 million in NIL compensation from the ‘Canes. Beck landed in Coral Gables as the No. 1-ranked player to enter the transfer portal this past offseason, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings. 

Richt, who played quarterback at Miami from 1979-82, returned as head coach at his alma mater in 2016 after 15 seasons (2001-15) as Georgia’s head coach, during which he compiled a 145-51 overall record in Athens.

Richt led the Bulldogs to two SEC Championships in the early 2000s, and made the SEC title game six total times, but struggled to take Georgia any further. The 65-year-old Richt then spent three seasons as the Hurricanes’ head coach, going 26-13 during that span, before retiring from coaching following the 2018 season.

Carson Beck reveals why transfer to Miami is ‘one of the better decisions I’ve made’

Beck reflected on his decision to transfer to Miami, noting the importance of scheme while making his decision. As he looks to take that next step and head to the NFL, he said offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and the skill players in place were crucial in landing his commitment.

“I think the biggest thing for me, obviously, was the offensive fit,” Beck said. “As a quarterback, the OC, the scheme, the talent and guys that you’re going to have around you is huge to the success and ultimately, the future A, of a quarterback, but of me. This is my future and I think this decision is one of the better decisions I’ve made.

“Since I’ve been in here in January and developing the relationships and building the chemistry with me, the wide receivers, the running backs, the tight ends, the o-line. Just trying to develop those relationships and that camaraderie, it just reinforced my decision in a positive way. I’m really excited to keep working with these guys.”

Beck took over as Georgia’s starting quarterback in 2023, replacing the NFL-bound Stetson Bennett after leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships in 2021-22. Beck put together a huge debut season as Georgia’s QB1, completed 72.4-percent of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023. Unfortuantely, protection issues among other factors led to a rather disappointing 2024 for Beck, who completed just 64.7-percent of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns while also throwing a SEC-worst 12 interceptions.

Add in Beck suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow on the final play of the first half in the 2024 SEC Championship game in Atlanta and the former Georgia quarterback refused to let last season be his last in college.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.