Bobby Ramsay has a unique perspective on Carson Beck’s transfer to Miami. The 2018 Florida Coach of the Year is both a hardcore Canes fan and Beck’s former coach at Jacksonville Mandarin. Ramsay, who is now the head coach at Andrew Jackson High School, met with CanesInSight to discuss Beck’s decision:
On his Canes fandom: I'm diehard. My earliest memories are sitting on my parents' bedroom floor watching Jerome Brown break Troy Aikman's leg. I've seen them all since the mid-80s.
[The Canes love in Duval County] is better than you'd think. It's growing. For a long time, kids weren't going there recruiting-wise. When [former Miami assistant] Todd Hartley was here and had the area, that started changing. You had the Shaq Quartermans and the Will Mallorys.
Miami's got a solid following. Obviously, it's Jacksonville, so you're going to say Florida, Florida State are the top two and Georgia maybe the third, just cause we're right here on that border. But there’s a lot of Duval love for the Canes.
I recently hired two assistants, both diehard Hurricane fans. I didn't know that was the case, but a couple of my coaches were giving me a hard time. Like I just picked Miami fans. (Laughs). God is good. It just worked out that way.
On his first impressions of Beck: The first time I saw Carson was in a baseball game. He was playing third base. Providence, where he was going to school at the time, had a really strong baseball program. And everybody was like, “Oh, they have this third baseman committed to Florida.”
I looked out there and he was a pretty impressive guy. He was in the 10th grade. Physically, right off the rip he looked the part.
On Beck’s arrival at Mandarin: My first year at Mandarin, we were 2-8. It was a rebuild. We had some really good receivers. One of 'em, Demario Douglas (of Liberty), is playing for the Patriots right now. We had a hard time getting him the ball the year before. Chris Mitchell played at FIU and set their receiving record. Now he's playing for Notre Dame. We had another kid, Darien Oxendine, who ended up going to FAMU. And we had a strong offensive line.
We had a lot of pieces, but Carson was what we became known for as the season went on. He hadn't played a ton of quarterback when he came to Mandarin. Then he gets here, starts going to these camps and he's getting these spot offers: Alabama, Florida, and it just kind of blows up from there. He hadn't really played much, and I was always in the back of my mind going, “Everybody deserves a learning curve.”
He was coming from a smaller level to 8A. Our schedule was loaded that year. We played Apopka, Raines, Godby when they were rolling. The beginning of the year had its ups and downs.
We go into our first district game against Deland. We were down by three late in the game and got the ball back with 2:10 left. If I was going to talk about a two-minute drive at a coaching clinic, I would show that film.
The next week, we played Raines. We lost that game, but we came back late and drove down to almost score. We just ran out of time. He took a lot of shots in that game.
From that point on, there was a real uptick for him in growth and his development, competing on that level. He started to morph into the quarterback he's become.
On Beck’s leadership: When he came to us, he was coming out of a small private school that he'd been in his whole life. Coming in with all this sort of hype, you don't really know how good he's going to be. Then he's also adjusting to a school with 2,500 kids, lots of different backgrounds and being on a team with 50 other kids as opposed to 30.
There's all these dynamics that are in play. And everybody's like, “Oh, by the way, you should go out there and throw for 310 yards and 3 TDs every night,” so you have that pressure. That receiver group was special and great kids, but we all know receivers are always open. They always want the ball.
I told him early on, “You're going to have to manage that. I can't do it for you. I can't tell you how because I've never had to do it, but you're going to have to manage that dynamic.”
And he was cool about it. He was like, "Yeah, I can handle it.” He managed that really well. We won states. (Beck's threw for 329 yards and 5 TDs in a win against Columbus, Mario Cristobal's alma mater)
The next year, everybody left. One offensive line starter back. All new receivers. He had to get guys going, help guys develop.
The second half of that year, he kind of dragged us to the semifinal. He played his guts out. The way he competed in that game always stood out to me.
On Beck’s physical traits: He’s a much better athlete than he gets credit for. If you saw him in the Tennessee game, some of the runs he had, he put his shoulder down, he ran over a kid. I would encourage him to run in high school.
Everybody's going to always do the Cam Ward comparisons. I don't think he's that far off [athletically]. Him and Cam are kind of in a similar ballpark. I don't think they play exactly the same way.
Athletically, they're similar. Carson may stay in the pocket longer, or Cam might try to extend the play. They're both fixated on what's going on down the field. I wouldn't label Cam Ward as an athlete quarterback. He's a thrower who can run, and I think Carson is that same way.
I don't think you can play the position well nowadays and not be able to move. Pass rush is too good. There’s too much going on and the defensive guys are throwing too much stuff at you. You have to be able to navigate within the pocket, possibly getting out of it, and then when it's time to run, run. He can do all those things.
He can make all the throws. Everybody sees that. He's a deceptive athlete. You can't be offered a baseball scholarship to a D1 school in the ninth grade and not have some really athletic skills. And you don't have to worry about his arm strength.
On Beck’s fit in Miami: He's kind of a homebody. I don't think he's coming down to Miami to live on South Beach. That's just not him. He's going down there for business, and he's going down there because of the opportunity that's presented. It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend goes there.
He's been under a spotlight for a long time. When you've been through the SEC schedule, the expectations, the pressures, a school like Georgia that expects the national title, he handled all that well. He's not a guy who's out and about. He's doing his thing with football.
Everybody's always looking for comparisons. I think that Ken Dorsey mentality is there. I don't know if he'll be as fiery on the sideline as Dorsey. The opportunity is unique for him because he's accomplished so much at the college level, but still, coming to Miami feeling like he has something to prove and set himself up for the draft next season. That's why I'm excited about the opportunity for him. People say it's Miami, distractions, but he's coming in with a chip on his shoulder.
Everything took a hard left when he got injured. If he's healthy, Georgia is in the national championship. The injury won't have any bearing on his play in the fall, but he can't throw until probably March, April. That nixes the combine, nixes Pro Day.
The way it ended, it seemed like he was scapegoated for the season they had. They don't get back in the Alabama game if he doesn't throw them back into it. They don't beat Tennessee if he doesn't play the way he played.
Honestly, he could have come out after last year. He had a heck of a season. He doesn't vocalize his chips, but he's taking notes. keeping receipts. He's coming in highly motivated because his goals for this year were win a national title, win the Heisman, and he didn't accomplish that. His goals have not changed: win a national championship, win the Heisman. Obviously, it's a great fit between Miami and him.
On Beck’s drop-off in production in 2024: The interception piece, rule one as a quarterback is take care of the ball and he's got to do a good job of that. Some throws he'd like to have back. One of his best strengths is his biggest weakness: he can make all the throws. Sometimes when guys know that, they think every throw is there. But even Ward came in with some concerns about interceptions.
The drops this year weren't just drops, they were brutal drops. I’m not talking 1st and 10, a guy drops a hitch or a slant. I’m talking 40 yards down the field, game-changing plays, dropped. Not talking, “Well, it was a contested catch, or it was a 50/50 ball.” He put a dime on Arian Smith down the sideline, first drive against Alabama. It’s a different game if that ball's caught.
I think he looks at what Miami has at receiver. Look at what Trader did in the bowl game and what Lofton has shown. Guys like Carr and Robinson guys coming in. They got the transfer from LSU (CJ Daniels). They may get another one.
The Georgia WRs didn’t give him a lot of help. It's one thing to have an innocent drop, 2nd and 10, we're fine. But when you're dropping balls that flip the field, take points off the board, change the momentum of a game, that's hard to overcome, especially with the schedule they played.
On Beck’s readiness for the schedule: He won't be overwhelmed. Doak Campbell next year won't intimidate him. Miami has Notre Dame and Florida to start the year. That was big for Miami getting a quarterback who's been in situations like that. He checks those boxes.
I was fortunate to coach Derrick Henry at Yulee and, the two of them, I see a lot of similarities as far as just the love of the game. They both, at their core, love football. It means a lot. When other things start getting thrown in, money and attention, if that love isn't strong as a rock, it's going to get chipped away. When you love the game, you'll make sacrifices, do what you have to do.
He doesn't have some other passion right now in his life that would take him away from that. I know there's the NIL element to it, but I think he's betting on himself. That should give people confidence.
On his Canes fandom: I'm diehard. My earliest memories are sitting on my parents' bedroom floor watching Jerome Brown break Troy Aikman's leg. I've seen them all since the mid-80s.
[The Canes love in Duval County] is better than you'd think. It's growing. For a long time, kids weren't going there recruiting-wise. When [former Miami assistant] Todd Hartley was here and had the area, that started changing. You had the Shaq Quartermans and the Will Mallorys.
Miami's got a solid following. Obviously, it's Jacksonville, so you're going to say Florida, Florida State are the top two and Georgia maybe the third, just cause we're right here on that border. But there’s a lot of Duval love for the Canes.
I recently hired two assistants, both diehard Hurricane fans. I didn't know that was the case, but a couple of my coaches were giving me a hard time. Like I just picked Miami fans. (Laughs). God is good. It just worked out that way.
On his first impressions of Beck: The first time I saw Carson was in a baseball game. He was playing third base. Providence, where he was going to school at the time, had a really strong baseball program. And everybody was like, “Oh, they have this third baseman committed to Florida.”
I looked out there and he was a pretty impressive guy. He was in the 10th grade. Physically, right off the rip he looked the part.
On Beck’s arrival at Mandarin: My first year at Mandarin, we were 2-8. It was a rebuild. We had some really good receivers. One of 'em, Demario Douglas (of Liberty), is playing for the Patriots right now. We had a hard time getting him the ball the year before. Chris Mitchell played at FIU and set their receiving record. Now he's playing for Notre Dame. We had another kid, Darien Oxendine, who ended up going to FAMU. And we had a strong offensive line.
We had a lot of pieces, but Carson was what we became known for as the season went on. He hadn't played a ton of quarterback when he came to Mandarin. Then he gets here, starts going to these camps and he's getting these spot offers: Alabama, Florida, and it just kind of blows up from there. He hadn't really played much, and I was always in the back of my mind going, “Everybody deserves a learning curve.”
He was coming from a smaller level to 8A. Our schedule was loaded that year. We played Apopka, Raines, Godby when they were rolling. The beginning of the year had its ups and downs.
We go into our first district game against Deland. We were down by three late in the game and got the ball back with 2:10 left. If I was going to talk about a two-minute drive at a coaching clinic, I would show that film.
The next week, we played Raines. We lost that game, but we came back late and drove down to almost score. We just ran out of time. He took a lot of shots in that game.
From that point on, there was a real uptick for him in growth and his development, competing on that level. He started to morph into the quarterback he's become.
On Beck’s leadership: When he came to us, he was coming out of a small private school that he'd been in his whole life. Coming in with all this sort of hype, you don't really know how good he's going to be. Then he's also adjusting to a school with 2,500 kids, lots of different backgrounds and being on a team with 50 other kids as opposed to 30.
There's all these dynamics that are in play. And everybody's like, “Oh, by the way, you should go out there and throw for 310 yards and 3 TDs every night,” so you have that pressure. That receiver group was special and great kids, but we all know receivers are always open. They always want the ball.
I told him early on, “You're going to have to manage that. I can't do it for you. I can't tell you how because I've never had to do it, but you're going to have to manage that dynamic.”
And he was cool about it. He was like, "Yeah, I can handle it.” He managed that really well. We won states. (Beck's threw for 329 yards and 5 TDs in a win against Columbus, Mario Cristobal's alma mater)
The next year, everybody left. One offensive line starter back. All new receivers. He had to get guys going, help guys develop.
The second half of that year, he kind of dragged us to the semifinal. He played his guts out. The way he competed in that game always stood out to me.
On Beck’s physical traits: He’s a much better athlete than he gets credit for. If you saw him in the Tennessee game, some of the runs he had, he put his shoulder down, he ran over a kid. I would encourage him to run in high school.
Everybody's going to always do the Cam Ward comparisons. I don't think he's that far off [athletically]. Him and Cam are kind of in a similar ballpark. I don't think they play exactly the same way.
Athletically, they're similar. Carson may stay in the pocket longer, or Cam might try to extend the play. They're both fixated on what's going on down the field. I wouldn't label Cam Ward as an athlete quarterback. He's a thrower who can run, and I think Carson is that same way.
I don't think you can play the position well nowadays and not be able to move. Pass rush is too good. There’s too much going on and the defensive guys are throwing too much stuff at you. You have to be able to navigate within the pocket, possibly getting out of it, and then when it's time to run, run. He can do all those things.
He can make all the throws. Everybody sees that. He's a deceptive athlete. You can't be offered a baseball scholarship to a D1 school in the ninth grade and not have some really athletic skills. And you don't have to worry about his arm strength.
On Beck’s fit in Miami: He's kind of a homebody. I don't think he's coming down to Miami to live on South Beach. That's just not him. He's going down there for business, and he's going down there because of the opportunity that's presented. It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend goes there.
He's been under a spotlight for a long time. When you've been through the SEC schedule, the expectations, the pressures, a school like Georgia that expects the national title, he handled all that well. He's not a guy who's out and about. He's doing his thing with football.
Everybody's always looking for comparisons. I think that Ken Dorsey mentality is there. I don't know if he'll be as fiery on the sideline as Dorsey. The opportunity is unique for him because he's accomplished so much at the college level, but still, coming to Miami feeling like he has something to prove and set himself up for the draft next season. That's why I'm excited about the opportunity for him. People say it's Miami, distractions, but he's coming in with a chip on his shoulder.
Everything took a hard left when he got injured. If he's healthy, Georgia is in the national championship. The injury won't have any bearing on his play in the fall, but he can't throw until probably March, April. That nixes the combine, nixes Pro Day.
The way it ended, it seemed like he was scapegoated for the season they had. They don't get back in the Alabama game if he doesn't throw them back into it. They don't beat Tennessee if he doesn't play the way he played.
Honestly, he could have come out after last year. He had a heck of a season. He doesn't vocalize his chips, but he's taking notes. keeping receipts. He's coming in highly motivated because his goals for this year were win a national title, win the Heisman, and he didn't accomplish that. His goals have not changed: win a national championship, win the Heisman. Obviously, it's a great fit between Miami and him.
On Beck’s drop-off in production in 2024: The interception piece, rule one as a quarterback is take care of the ball and he's got to do a good job of that. Some throws he'd like to have back. One of his best strengths is his biggest weakness: he can make all the throws. Sometimes when guys know that, they think every throw is there. But even Ward came in with some concerns about interceptions.
The drops this year weren't just drops, they were brutal drops. I’m not talking 1st and 10, a guy drops a hitch or a slant. I’m talking 40 yards down the field, game-changing plays, dropped. Not talking, “Well, it was a contested catch, or it was a 50/50 ball.” He put a dime on Arian Smith down the sideline, first drive against Alabama. It’s a different game if that ball's caught.
I think he looks at what Miami has at receiver. Look at what Trader did in the bowl game and what Lofton has shown. Guys like Carr and Robinson guys coming in. They got the transfer from LSU (CJ Daniels). They may get another one.
The Georgia WRs didn’t give him a lot of help. It's one thing to have an innocent drop, 2nd and 10, we're fine. But when you're dropping balls that flip the field, take points off the board, change the momentum of a game, that's hard to overcome, especially with the schedule they played.
On Beck’s readiness for the schedule: He won't be overwhelmed. Doak Campbell next year won't intimidate him. Miami has Notre Dame and Florida to start the year. That was big for Miami getting a quarterback who's been in situations like that. He checks those boxes.
I was fortunate to coach Derrick Henry at Yulee and, the two of them, I see a lot of similarities as far as just the love of the game. They both, at their core, love football. It means a lot. When other things start getting thrown in, money and attention, if that love isn't strong as a rock, it's going to get chipped away. When you love the game, you'll make sacrifices, do what you have to do.
He doesn't have some other passion right now in his life that would take him away from that. I know there's the NIL element to it, but I think he's betting on himself. That should give people confidence.
