Carson Beck was Always the Championship Quarterback for Miami OC Shannon Dawson
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MIAMI BEACH — Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson guided the best offense in the country with the No. 1 overall pick as his starting quarterback last season.
Regardless of how generational the team was on offense, last year's collapse happened because of a struggling defense. Without that same offensive firepower, Dawson knew he needed a quarterback who could play at a championship level and one who had big game experience.
He found that in the transfer portal in star quarterback Carson Beck.
"He played in a lot of big games," Dawson said during media day. "We looked at his career as one of 'man, this kid's got a lot of experience'. We felt like we were a really good football team, and we felt like we needed somebody to play in big games because we were hoping to play in some big games, and he's been in a lot of them.
"That was the one thing at the beginning that I looked at was that this kid has been in a lot of big games and won a lot of big games. That experience was very much so a big point in taking him."
Dawson knew that he had a championship pedigree, but when looking for a quarterback, he also knew the style of system he liked to run. He needed a smart quarterback, and one who could make the right reads and timely throws.
"Now, you've got to have the talent," Dawson said. "Everyone's evaluations of quarterbacks differ, and I think 99 percent of people screw it up. Ultimately, you have to be an accurate thrower in the pocket to be a productive quarterback. Period. Everyone gets enamored with this, and this, kid can run a four... I don't care. If you can't throw it accurately from the pocket, then I'm not that good of a coach."
Beck had spent his time at Goeriga playing smart football, even with some of the mistakes he made. He fit Dawson's offensive scheme and knew he could be a field general when the time called for it.
"That's what I wanted to see on film," Dawson said. "What type of player is he? Is he a progression quarterback? Is he sitting in the pocket finding lanes and triggering with accurary and that is what he was. You don't always see that when you put on tape. We do it a different way. You have to dissect defenses. That is what I wanted to see, and I did. He was really good from the pocket. He's more athletic than people give him credit for. I wanted a guy that if you can't make your layups on offense, then football will be hard."
Beck has made those layups and made other plays in the College Football Playoff, proving Dawson's point as an elite-level player. The quarterback and offensive coordinator duo have to do it one final time for a national championship. It will justify everything Dawson has believed and said about Beck, as well as his scheme being championship-level.
The Hurricanes will take on the Hoosiers in the National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.