Miami has become a hotbed for transfers.
In the last few years, the Hurricanes have landed Cam Ward, Carson Beck and, most recently, Darian Mensah. The results speak for themselves: Ward eventually was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Beck led the Canes to the College Football Playoff National Championship and Mensah, the second-most prolific passer in the NCAA this past year, has the opportunity to build upon the foundation set by his two predecessors.
Beck, however, believes he knows the secret sauce.
“First and foremost, it’s coaching,” Beck said. “Coach [Mario] Cristobal is an outstanding coach, an offensive line guy. So again, to have success at quarterback, you got to have a lot of the guys around you right? You’re only one piece of the puzzle. This past year. I had an amazing offensive line, great skill players around me — running back, tight end, wide receivers — and that’s obviously going to help you have success at quarterback.”
Beck then gave a special shoutout to offensive coordinator Shane Dawson.
“He makes everything run,” Beck continued. “The way that he is able to feel the flow of the game, the different play calls and attacking defenses in different ways, he definitely helps his quarterbacks have a lot of success.”
Although quarterbacks might get the most shine, the Canes have done well at other positions. There was defensive back Keionte Scott, safety JaKobe Thomas and wideout CJ Daniels.
A fifth-year senior who played for three different programs, Daniels praised Cristobal’s ability to connect with players.
“Just him wanting to coach you that’s the main thing,” Daniels said. “Being wanted makes me feel really good. The coaching staff is really different from any staff in the country so being appreciated by them, being wanted by them really helped.”
With Mensah now a Cane, Miami is expected to have big year in 2026. Not only do they have a quarterback who could jump up draft boards in the fall and the fourth-best transfer class per 247 Sports, they still have star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. as well as reigning freshman of the year Malachi Toney.