Miami coach Mario Cristobal will lose the services of influential quarterback Carson Beck after the No. 10 Hurricanes play the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers. Beck has steered the Canes through the gauntlet of the postseason, delivering impressive performances against Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss.
Beck joined Miami from the Georgia Bulldogs via the transfer portal to replace Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 pick during the 2025 NFL Draft. Once their season is over, the Hurricanes will need to make a similar move, but options are running low.
Mario Cristobal Dealt a QB-Shaped Blow by Lane Kiffin
The transfer portal was inundated with quality quarterbacks, but several elite teams have already snapped them up, leaving few options for several schools. Former Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt was one of the quarterbacks linked to Cristobal’s Miami, but on Monday, he committed to Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers.
After the news broke, “Sun Sentinel” reporter Adam Lichtenstein pressed the panic button on Miami’s available quarterback options on X.
“With Leavitt likely going to LSU, there are not many, if any, high-level QBs currently available. Per 247Sports’ rankings, the top available QB is former USC 5-star Husan Longstreet, who has hardly played, and former Mizzou QB Beau Pribula,” Lichtenstein tweeted.
On the same day, former Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola committed to the Oregon Ducks, leaving the quarterback market light on true quality and putting Cristobal in a tough spot.
Canes Reportedly Offer Mammoth $6.5 Million to SEC QB
On Sunday evening, AL.com reporter Nick Kelly revealed that Cristobal’s Hurricanes made a late move to lure Alabama Crimson Tide QB Ty Simpson to Coral Gables. After Alabama was dumped out of the College Football Playoff, Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, but the Canes reportedly offered him a mammoth $6.5 million deal to join them.
During Sunday’s episode of the “Adopt & Respond” podcast, analyst RJ Young weighed in on the reports linking the Hurricanes with the lucrative move for Simpson.
“Ty Simpson is looking at deals worth $6.5 million to stay and play one more year of college football in 2026,” Young said. “A deal was offered to Ty Simpson that was for one year and $6.5 million. Three SEC schools are also offering him $4 million. This is the kind of money that is in line with being a first-round draft pick in the NFL.”
“Only one quarterback has beaten Georgia in Sanford in the last six years, Ty Simpson. Period. He’s that good. If it’s Alabama, Ole Miss, or LSU, there are teams that need him in a very real way to maximize their potential.”
Simpson registered 3,567 passing yards, resulting in 28 touchdowns and five interceptions, while adding 93 rushing yards and two scores to earn a PFSN College QB Impact score of 81.7, good for No. 31 in the country.
