Miami's Carson Beck and Oklahoma's John Mateer head list of prominent players switching schools

Associated Press

2 days ago

After an injury kept him from competing in the College Football Playoff last year, Carson Beck wants to get back to that stage with a different school.
Beck made one of the biggest transfer portal moves of the offseason when he left Georgia for Miami. Beck's decision came after he hurt his elbow in Georgia's Southeastern Conference championship game victory over Texas, ending his 2024 season prematurely.
Beck was regarded as a likely first-round pick in the 2025 draft when he began the 2024 season. Beck announced in late December that he would enter the draft, then he changed his mind and opted to return to school at a different campus.
'I think that this decision is one of the better decisions I've made,' Beck told reporters at the Atlantic Coast Conference media days event. 'Since I've been here in January developing the relationships and building the chemistry between me and the wide receivers, the running backs, the tight ends, the o-line and just trying to develop those relationships and that camaraderie, it just reinforced my decision in a positive way.'
Beck's first game with No. 10 Miami will come Aug. 31 in a Sunday night matchup with No. 6 Notre Dame, a team he would have faced in last year's playoff — a 23-10 Georgia loss — if he hadn't hurt his elbow.
Beck follows Cam Ward, who also transferred to Miami and played well enough for the Hurricanes to go to the Tennessee Titans with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. Beck noted that he's accustomed to having big shoes to fill, as he became Georgia's starting quarterback after Stetson Bennett led the Bulldogs to consecutive national championships.
At Georgia last year, Beck completed 64.7% of his passes for 3,485 yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. That followed a 2023 season in which he completed 72.4% of his throws for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
He didn't throw the ball at all during spring practice for Miami but says he is now at full strength.
Other notable players at new schools (former schools in parentheses):
Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey (Stanford)
Pro Football Focus has Bailey as the highest-rated returning edge rusher in college football. Bailey collected seven sacks and forced five fumbles for Stanford last season. He had 15 sacks, 11 quarterback hits and 65 hurries over the last three seasons. His seven career forced fumbles put him in a tie for second place among all active Football Bowl Subdivision players.
Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields (Virginia)
Notre Dame reached the College Football Playoff championship game last season without anyone having more than 592 yards receiving. Fields should help. He had 55 catches for 808 yards – more than twice as many as any of his teammates – and five touchdowns in 2024. Fields caught 58 passes for 811 yards and five scores in 2023.
UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee)
Iamaleava helped Tennessee get to the playoff last season, then left the Volunteers to join a UCLA program that's coming off a 5-7 season. His transfer was one of the major stories of the offseason amid reports he wanted a bigger payday. Iamaleava said he simply wanted to be closer to Long Beach, California, where he grew up. He completed 63.8% of his passes for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 358 yards and three more scores last year.
Oklahoma QB John Mateer (Washington State)
Mateer backed up Ward for his first two seasons at Washington State before passing for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last year. His move to Oklahoma allows him to continue working with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who was hired away from Washington State. Oklahoma is looking for Mateer to revitalize an offense that ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in yards passing per game and second-to-last in points per game last season.
Duke QB Darian Mensah (Tulane)
Mensah comes to Duke with three seasons of eligibility remaining after leading American Athletic Conference starting quarterbacks last season in yards per pass attempt (9.49) and completion percentage (.659). He threw for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdown passes and six interceptions last season while helping Tulane reach its conference championship game.
Oregon S Dillon Thieneman (Purdue)
Thieneman had a spectacular freshman season in 2023 that earned him Associated Press All-America third-team honors. He picked off six passes to tie for third among all Bowl Subdivision players and collected 106 tackles that year. He had 104 tackles last season to lead all Big Ten defensive backs.
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