Everything Carson Beck Said Ahead of Matchup Against Florida

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes are going gator hunting, but for their star quarterback, it will be hard for him to beat Florida again. Not because of the talent on the team, but because he was always a Gators fan growing up.

He will put it to the side and try to add another victory in the win column for the Canes and in his long-time history with the SEC team.

He took some time to talk to the media as he prepares for this massive rivalry game on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

On Getting Recruited By Florida At an Early Age...

"Yeah, it was a very strong consideration, and I actually, I think most people know this, but I was actually committed to Florida.  My freshman year of high school was for baseball, not football. So that was, I mean, that was always kind of the plan of what I kind of wanted to do when I was younger, obviously, is go there and, you know, play football and baseball. And obviously, you know, as you get older, things change, but, yeah, I mean, they were in my top three or four schools, in consideration when it, you know, came to making a decision coming out of high school."

On What Stands Out from the Gators Defense...

"Yeah, no, you look at this defense, and, you know, you look at their dec coordinator and what he does, and they challenge you. They do things that, you know, try to mess with your protection.  They do things where it's a lot of match coverage, and every throw is contested, but they also mix it up and, you know, play different types of zones.

So they're very multiple on defense, and they do their job well. They play very fast.  They're physical, obviously, great D line, good secondary, good back beers. I mean, they play fast, you know, it's a really good defense, and they've shown that this year. in the three games that they've played. So, again, it's going to be a challenge for us, but, you know, we're excited to accept that challenge, and, you know, go out and execute on Saturday."

On His Rivalry with Florida...

"In the Georgia-Florida game, uh, we would win. Obviously, we're playing in Jacksonville, but our tradition after the game would always be to go jump up in the stands, like, with all the Georgia fans.  So I think in those games and those wins that we got that got beat, that's got to beat, you know, some of my favorite memories are, you know, going up and jumping up in the stands with all my teammates at Georgia."

On Pitching to Use His Legs More in the Offense...

I mean, I'm not really thinking about, you know, not really getting hurt or anything like that.  I'm just playing the game, right? If it's my number's called on to do that, then I'm more than willing to go run, right? And it's far from the main part of my game.  It's not something that I'm gonna do every play or that we're gonna obviously depend on, but it's something that I'm willing to do. and it's something that I always joke about, literally every single day of camp, I'd walk in in the morning, and I'd go up on the whiteboard and Shannon Coach Dawson's office.

Or if we were already in the quarterback meeting, I'd go up on the board, and I'd draw like, quarterback power, quarterback counter, and everybody just laughed at me 'cause we're literally never gonna run that ever, even if I pegged them to do it every single day, but no, it's it's a good little joke that I always do with them, but it was that I actually got the opportunity to do it a little bit in this last game.

More the Thought Behind Running it....

"I want the ball in my hand, that's the way, I mean, my mind is programmed. Like, I want the ball in my hands every single play. Like, I want it to be on me, like, I want to go make plays, whether that's with my arm or with my legs.

 I mean, shoot, when I was in high school, my freshman-sophomore year, I would literally get put in just a run of ball. Like, I would not literally go in and not even throw it now. When our starter went down, obviously, I went in and ran the whole offense, but I mean, they go in just to run the ball, so obviously, I'm probably like 230 now, not 190.  Like, I used to be back then, but so probably a little bit slower than I used to be, but, yeah, people don't know that. I move a little bit."

On is Experience in College and Against the Gators...

"Yeah, I mean, just experience in general, obviously, helps is you continue to grow and develop. You can, you know, you can always get better, right?  I'm never gonna, you know, hit a plateau each game. There's something for me to get better at. There's something for me to learn from.  But, you know, having to play this defense and you, knowing the style, knowing, kind of what they want to do, what they want to be in.

Obviously, there's always change-ups and mix-ups that, you know, dec coordinators are gonna throw at you that you maybe haven't seen before. But again, it's good.  I mean, they again, they're very talented.

They' got a lot of talent on that defense. So it's gonna be a challenge for us, but it's something that, you know, we're gonna prepare, we're we're gonna work through the week, you know, we came in, we worked yesterday, we came in today.  I a really tough physical practice today on a Tuesday. So we're just gonna continue to prepare throughout the week and then, you know, hopefully go out there and execute on Saturday."

On Trying to Play a Clean Game...

"Yeah, I mean, things are never gonna be perfect, and obviously, strive for perfection, and that's something I think I've said before. I mean, obviously, I strive for perfection every day, but it's never gonna be perfect, so it doesn't knowing that, it really doesn't matter.  Obviously, I don't want to have mishaps like that or do things like that, and I'll do everything in my ability to not do that, but I can't be thinking about that, you know what I'm saying?

Like, I'm in attack mode, attack, attack, attack. We want to get explosive plays, we want to score, we want to throw the ball through the air, like, and just attack.  So if I can't be on the defensive, right? So, like, things are gonna happen.

They're gonna get us.  They're gonna be in better coverage for the play. I just have to think, you know, better decisions sometimes, and not make bad plays worse. And I think that's something that, you know, as, you know, you get older and older, you just learn from, and you learn from your mistakes, and then, again, if you make a mistake, you move on, you go and make a play, the next drive.  That's really all you can do."

On the Offenses Evolution...

"I think the offense is forever evolving. Obviously, as you get guys to start getting in the mix, especially some of these younger guys. And really, I mean, all the talent that we have, you don't know who is gonna really, like, step out of nowhere.  You know what I'm saying? So, obviously, there are your guys that I like CJ, right? Like, your older vets, your Kealen's, your Malachi's that have been consistent with these first three games and put up stats and gun catches and things like that, a physical back, and, you know, Mark Fletcher, you got Marty, Lyle's been out for a little bit, but, you know, that's another really talented guy that we have that, you know, you haven't really seen much.

Those tight ends, you mentioned up, like, I haven't really seen him much..  That's not because they're not capable, but it's just because the ball has just been getting sprung around, right? So again, I don't think you know who is gonna kind of step up and make those plays throughout the game, but, again, I think the offense is forever evolving. Obviously, we have our base of who we are, right?  But again, I'm looking forward to seeing who's gonna continue to step up as, you know, we keep going to the season. It's a long season, and there's still a long way to go."

On His Successful Start to his Season...

I think, obviously, the big thing to that is the people around me, today. again, we I mean, we've been playing lights out on offense really, and we've minimalized our mistakes and just been really efficient and consistent.  I mean, that starts with Coach Dawson, and then our O line, our tight ends, our wide receivers, our running backs, we've had a very efficient run game. We've played physical, wide receivers have made plays on the outside. And again, that makes my life a lot easier, right?  When I'm able to go through my progressions, my feet are clean, right?

They're not A, getting hit much in the pocket, the O line is doing a phenomenal job, and when I'm given time and able to dissect defenses, I believe that I'm very efficient, and I rarely miss. and I don't know, you can turn on the film and tell me if I'm wrong, but um, again, the guys are out there making plays, and, I mean, I have to give a huge credit to them, so, I mean, I put in a lot of work in Ox season with these guys, and it's really paying off through these first three games, but again, we got a long season to go, and, you know I think we can keep it up and maintain that consistency.