Friday is the final day that a college football player not playing in the national championship game on Monday can file the paperwork to enter the sport’s lone Transfer Portal window. Now, it may take some time for that paperwork to go through, and players can still commit once the portal closes, but Friday essentially serves as Miami’s deadline to find its Carson Beck replacement.
In each of the past two offseasons, Miami was able to convince a veteran quarterback to withdraw from the NFL Draft to spend their final season of eligibility in Coral Gables. First with Cam Ward, then with Carson Beck. This year, that same plan, even with a $6.5 million offer, failed to convince former Alabama QB Ty Simpson.
Then, Miami turned its attention to Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt, just for him to commit to LSU. USC transfer and 2025 five-star Husan Longstreet emerged as a possible answer, then he did the same, joining Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge. Heading into the final day of the transfer portal window, the top three-ranked uncommitted quarterbacks in the transfer portal are Oregon incoming freshman Bryson Beaver, Incarnate Word transfer EJ Colson, and Michigan transfer Jadyn Davis.
That’s an uninspiring group, and leads anyone to conclude that the program willing to spend nearly $7 million on the position will be looking elsewhere. Maybe that’s a Dylan Raiola who committed to Oregon before Dante Moore announced he was returning, or DJ Lagway, who has seemingly yet to officially sign with Baylor. But more likely, Miami’s next quarterback hasn’t entered the portal yet, and he’s running out of time.
Miami has to get CJ Bailey into the Transfer Portal
There’s still one obvious name that you can’t help but connect with Mario Cristobal and the Canes: Miami native CJ Bailey. The former Chaminade-Madonna Prep starting QB has spent the last two seasons starting for NC State, and in 2025, he threw for 3,105 yards, completed 68.8 percent of his throws with 25 touchdowns to nine interceptions.
Bailey announced at the start of the transfer portal window that he’s returning to NC State, but that’s nothing that $6.5 million can’t change. Miami can always outspend NC State, but especially when the program is flush with cash after raking in $20 million from its College Football Playoff run this year. The ACC is the only league that allows the team responsible for earning that money keep all of it, and that only adds to the disparity in spending between the best and the rest.
Even if Bailey has signed with NC State, that may not stop him from leaving, and shouldn’t stop Miami from trying. He has two years of eligibility remaining, and litigation may drag out through that entire time, but it will almost certainly never stop him from playing, as it hasn’t with Xavier Lucas, who transferred from Wisconsin outside the Transfer Portal window last offseason. Wisconsin is suing Miami right now, and Lucas will suit up on Monday night (for the second half after serving the rest of a targeting suspension).
Miami has been slow to react in the transfer portal, with just four commits and the 49th-ranked class. Maybe that’s because of its focus on the national championship, but that hasn’t stopped Indiana from ranking No. 7 in the portal rankings and landing its Fernando Mendoza replacement, Josh Hoover.
Miami is almost out of options at quarterback. If Cristobal and his staff don’t get Bailey to enter the portal on Friday, then they will be.
