Carson Beck is gearing up to throw his first snap at Miami, come this weekend. Plucked straight from Kirby Smart’s roster, Beck is stoked for Week 1, filling in the shoes of Cam Ward. Now, the chatter has been up about the depth chart and who is going to be the backup quarterback. Last season, during the Pop-Tarts Bowl game, Ward stepped aside at halftime to avoid injury while preparing for the draft. A young QB stepped in to finish the game against the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones. Now he has officially secured the No. 2 role behind Carson Beck.

New intel has put an end to that anticipation. Emory Williams is the backup QB for the 2025 season. Last season wasn’t a huge hit for him, but his redemption arc earned Cristobal’s nod. “Emory is gon’ be the backup, and Lucas is in there, competing his butt off. So it’s just, but that’s where we’re rolling right now,” the head coach said in the conversation over a phone call with Joe Rose on Monday.

But last season’s numbers cast doubt on his abilities after he chipped in for an injured Cam Ward at halftime of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Though it was his first game appearance since Sept. 14 against Ball State, that didn’t stop him from taking the reins. The second half saw him tally five completions in 14 attempts and an interception. He was disappointed with his performance as well. “….by no means the result of what I was looking for,” he said, per the Miami Herald. His confidence was shaken, but that pushed him to grind harder. “That is what lit the fire; A wakeup call,” he said, per the Miami Herald. But what followed was his redemption arc.

The off-season saw to that change. He altered his throwing motion, worked on his footwork and delivery, and his scrambling ability with the assistance of coach Jeff Christensen. Another change that followed suit was his changing his jersey number. From 17 to 8. “That [8] was the number I wore when I was young. Sort of a throwback to the past, a fresh change.” The off-season saw a fresh face emerging behind the trenches. He also built his strength, adding 13 more pounds, to reach 223. “My footwork has gotten faster, my straight sprinting has gotten faster, my motion has gotten faster,” he further added. With Mario Cristobal announcing him as the backup, his off-season grind surely bore fruit.

Carson Beck’s mom drops 2-word praise for her son

The season-opener against Notre Dame is just around the corner, with the adrenaline already pumping high. With all the high expectations zooming in on him, his mother, Tracy, has been bubbling with excitement for the game week. On her Instagram, she reposted @Canesarena’s post about the Game week prep, and captioned the story with, “So, excited!!🧡💚.”

Tracy has always been a supportive pillar since he went through tough phases. She was beside him during his freshman year, when he didn’t receive much action on the field, or the love she poured into the cookies she bakes for the O-line. Her wavering support pushed Beck to recovery when he suffered greatly during the game against Texas in December. Her constant words? “You owe it to yourself to show up and become everything you’ve ever dreamed of,” she posted on her Instagram story back in May.

Her sister, Kylie, is another presence that keeps him focused on the grind. Last season, she had been on Georgia’s cheerleading squad, but following Beck’s departure, she soon followed suit to Canes. She had posted a four-word motivation mantra for her sibling to keep him inspired. “A fighter. An inspiration. A leader. A role model. 🙌🙌.” 

With the support system firmly behind him, the true test comes this weekend, when Beck takes the field in his Miami debut to show how he fares against the Fighting Irish.