‘That’s what we came here for’: Miami transfers savor improbable playoff run
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GLENDALE, Arizona — Carson Beck had to make a decision: test the NFL draft waters or pick a transfer portal destination. He chose the latter, and he settled on the Hurricanes.
“Almost exactly a year ago, I made a decision to come to this university,” Beck said after Miami beat Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl. “I remember me and coach (Mario) Cristobal talking on the phone for the first time. I was sitting in Jacksonville, in my house in my room, and I just had a big smile on my face, and he had a big smile on his face. He said, ‘Let’s get to work.’
“I believed in his vision. I believed in what he’s been able to build here and add on to the culture of what Miami is. Man, what an unbelievable year.”
The Hurricanes have made targeting the right transfers a key part of their team-building. The transfers played huge roles in Miami’s 31-27 win over Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Thursday.
“I committed here without my parents even knowing,” said wide receiver Keelan Marion, who transferred from BYU. “They (were) looking crazy at me. I had been committed. Coach Cristobal had a conversation with me on my visit, told me everything I needed to know, and I said I wanted to play for that guy.”
Beck scored the game-winning touchdown in the victory, scampering out of the pocket on a broken play and reaching the end zone.
Marion was the Hurricanes’ top receiver. He caught a 52-yard touchdown pass and finished the game with 114 yards.
“When CJ (Daniels) went down, Keelan really started to step up,” Beck said. “Our chemistry really started to increase in that middle part of the season. Ever since then, we’ve been locked in. We’ve been really locked in. He had an unbelievable game (against Ole Miss). Obviously made some really, really huge plays on third down. Had some explosive catches as well. I’m just super proud of him. He works really hard and he deserves everything that obviously, he’s earned.”
Running back Marty Brown scored Miami’s first touchdown and rushed for 54 yards.
On defense, transfer Ethan O’Connor helped break up Ole Miss’ last-second Hail Mary. Linebacker Mo Toure had four tackles and a tackle for loss. Keionte Scott — who had a key pick-six against Ohio State — had a pair of quarterback hurries.
“That’s what we came here for, man,” Toure said. “We had a plan, we had a mission … and my guys talked about it before the season. We had dreams and aspirations of playing the national championship. And we executed and we worked our a– off week to week. And we had some bumps in the road, but we just kept pushing, kept fighting. We’re going there now, baby.”
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