As Carson Beck and the Miami Hurricanes take on Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff National Championship, fans are wondering who will complete the Canes’ quarterback room and their depth chart at the most important position.
For the first time in over 20 years, Miami is playing for a national championship in college football. It’s safe to say that under Mario Cristobal, the ‘U’ is back. Or better yet, the ‘U is Beck’, as the hope in Coral Gables lies in the hands of their experienced signal caller.
In his first — and last — year in Miami, Beck has had a season for the ages. Now, fans believe Beck can take the program back to college football’s promised land. However, if anything were to happen to Beck, Cristobal and company are confident the team can rally behind its backup.
Emory Williams is listed as the second-string quarterback for the Hurricanes. A redshirt sophomore, Williams was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. Completing the depth chart will be true freshman Luke Nickel, a four-star talent out of Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. Nickel has a lone pass attempt in the 2025 NCAA season, and it was on an incompletion.
Emory Williams is the backup QB for Miami
A look at Williams’ journey
Throughout his time in Coral Gables, Williams played the most in the 2023 NCAA season, though he served as a backup to Tyler Van Dyke. Since, Miami has enrolled star transfer quarterbacks in back-to-back years, causing Williams’ appearances to be even more sporadic.
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However, anything can happen in college football, and the backup may have to jump into the action. At Hard Rock Stadium—where Tua Tagovailoa was once dubbed a franchise QB—Williams may be called upon to repeat Tagovailoa’s National Championship heroics, when he entered as a backup to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a championship in 2018.
Beck vs. Mendoza
Still, barring a disaster or an injury crisis, Beck will not leave the field at Hard Rock Stadium during the National Championship Game. Neither will Indiana send in Fernando Mendoza’s backup quarterback on the Hoosiers depth chart, unless it’s the only option left for the school in Bloomington.
It’s Beck vs. Mendoza, Cignetti against Cristobal, and the ‘U’ up against the ‘IU’. This one is for all the marbles, as Miami and Indiana square off for college football’s ultimate trophy—along with significant prize money for the winner.
