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As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, draft-eligible players are hitting the media circuit in full force. These interviews inevitably turn to discussions about who’ll replace them at their college programs.
Miami quarterback Cam Ward faced exactly those questions during his pro day in Coral Gables Monday. When asked about Carson Beck — the former Georgia signal-caller who’ll take his place in 2025 — Ward didn’t just offer generic encouragement. He set the bar astronomically high for his successor.
Ward started with typical athlete advice: “Just be yourself. Don’t really look at the stat sheets and what I did this year because at the end of the day it wasn’t hard.”
Ward’s Challenge to Beck: 30+ TDs and Championship Expectations
Then came the kicker. Despite just telling Beck not to focus on stats, Ward immediately laid out specific statistical benchmarks his replacement should hit.
“You should at least throw 30 touchdowns in a year,” Ward declared. “I think the previous marker was twenty something, I did that in four games at UIW (Incarnate Heart), so it’s not hard to break records here.”
Ward didn’t stop there.
“The biggest thing I would tell Carson is to be himself and try to win games,” he continued. “At the end of the day they can talk how bad they want about you but if you win games you’ve got the one up on them.”
Those are bold expectations — but then again, Ward’s 2024 season was nothing short of spectacular. He threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns last year, while his career total of 178 passing TDs stands as an NCAA record.
Beck isn’t exactly walking into Miami as an untested rookie, though. He spent four seasons in the SEC pressure-cooker during Georgia’s dominant run under Kirby Smart, including the intense rivalry games against Alabama.
His numbers last season were solid if not quite Ward-level — 28 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. That TD mark represented a career high, achieved with Georgia’s elite SEC-caliber receiving corps. Replicating those numbers might be challenging at Miami, even with potentially weaker ACC defenses on the schedule.
What Beck does bring is a winning pedigree. His 24-3 career record speaks volumes about his ability to lead championship-caliber teams. Head coach Mario Cristobal is betting that Beck’s experience winning at the highest level will be the missing piece for a Hurricanes program that narrowly missed the College Football Playoff with Ward under center in 2024.
