"Beck to UNC?": CFB world reacts as Carson Beck reverses his decision to enter the transfer portal

Rather than enter April's NFL draft as he originally planned to do, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck sent shockwaves Thursday when he entered the transfer portal.

According to On3, Ohio State, Texas Tech and Miami are the schools to watch for in Beck's recruitment. That hasn't stopped people on X from theorizing some other interesting landing spots for Beck, who was once thought to possibly be a No. 1 pick in the draft.

"Beck to UNC? What ya think?" replied @ImagesStarlight on X to a post from Pat McAfee's account on Thursday.

How about some other destinations, which would definitely be ... interesting?

Of course, it's nearly an impossibility that Beck, who many consider a top-flight signal-caller at the college level, ends up at FCS programs located in Worcester, Massachusetts, or Youngstown, Ohio.

Beck passed for 3,485 yards, 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season for the Bulldogs, who went 11-2 in games he started. He did have a rough patch, though, tossing nine interceptions in a four-game span. Former NFL defensive back Darius Butler tried to make sense of why Carson Beck didn't stick to his guns and head to the pros.

"He probably got some information back, some grades back, maybe didn't like it, didn't love where he was projected," Butler said Thursday on "The Pat McAfee Show."

Miami quarterback Cam Ward also went back on a plan to enter the NFL draft before this season, joining the Hurricanes and boosting his stock with a showing that helped him to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Why would Carson Beck stay around in college?

Pat McAfee has a feeling the change of mind has a lot to do with the cash Carson Beck will gain in NIL deals. 247Sports national college football writer Chris Hummer believes that a highly regarded college football quarterback is worth the same amount of money on the market as a Day 2 NFL draft pick would be.

"Especially with the injury that he got to his elbow, maybe another year to build, plus another massive check coming," McAfee said. "The guy's won a national championship or two, been on the roster for a couple. I mean, he's gonna get a massive check."

Some think there are other motives as to why Carson Beck would come to such a decision, such as relationships or maybe Kirby Smart's desire to go in a different direction in his team's quarterback room.

The post by Will Gamble seems to liken Georgia's quarterback situation to the team who it beat in the Southeastern Conference title game, Texas. The Longhorns play in Friday's Cotton Bowl CFP semifinal against Ohio State, but some believe they'd be better off with backup Arch Manning than they are with Quinn Ewers, whose future is still cloudy.