As the Miami Hurricanes' countdown to the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals continues to wind down to the final hours, Carson Beck is familiar with this stage.
As the Miami Hurricanes are less than 48 hours away from kickoff in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals against the Ohio State Buckeyes, one of the keys to their success needs to come from quarterback Carson Beck. In the first round against the Texas A&M Aggies, he completed 14 of 20 passes for 103 yards and the game-winning touchdown to freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney.
They were able to limit turnovers by running the ball perfectly with Mark Fletcher Jr., who rushed 17 times for 172 yards. However, the Buckeyes have an excellent defense to stop the run, so Beck's ability to execute will be crucial.
The Hurricanes have been leaning on his College Football Playoff experience during his Georgia Bulldogs tenure. The former two-time National Champion alluded to this stage being "normal" for him.
"I've been in these games and moments," he said. "Even [when] not playing, being on the sidelines, but being around teams that have been here. Obviously, it feels a little bit better to be the [starting] quarterback to lead the team to this position."
The last time Beck was on this stage, the format was still four teams, and now it's 12. However, it presents the perfect opportunity for him to cement his legacy at the collegiate level, plus complete a comeback story.
It's been over a year now since the 23-year-old underwent UCL surgery after sustaining the injury in the SEC championship game against the Texas Longhorns, which played a role in him pulling out from the NFL draft, entering the transfer portal, and joining the Hurricanes.
"It's been a crazy turnaround from 13 months ago to now," Beck added. "Obviously, I was at Georgia and my mind was in a totally different spot of my future and what I wanted it to look like. A lot of times, you don't have control over what your story is going to hold. I think the whole journey taught me to take things one day at a time and show gratitude for the position you're in. I'm super thankful for what the University of Miami has given me, what coach [Mario] Cristobal, what [Shannon] Dawson have done. Developed me as a football player and as a man."
The Florida native could finish his collegiate career as one of the greats in the program if he leads the team to a National Championship. Regardless, the veteran quarterback isn't concerned with his own performance, but rather with doing what works best for the team to win, similarly to how the Hurricanes closed the regular season.
In the final four games, Beck completed 89 of 112 passes, 79.5 percent, for 1,125 yards, recording 11 touchdowns and one meaningless interception, all of which resulted in victories.
"I feel like I just need to execute each and every play as it goes," he said. "I don't think I need to do any more or less than just be me, go do what I need to do. At the end of the day, it's not just me out there. I got to 10 other guys out there that are [amazing] football players. I can lean on them, they can lean on me, and we all just trust each other to go out there and execute each and every play."
It's going to be an excellent showdown for Beck and the Hurricanes on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31st, at Arlington, Texas, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
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