Texas A&M football fans were as shocked as anybody to see the news today of Carson Beck's intent to enter the transfer portal. The now-former Bulldog QB was regarded as a round one prospect coming into this year, and despite entering his name into the draft as well, it now seems likely that he will spend another year in the collegiate ranks to reclaim some lost draft stock.
That lost stock is thanks to a very up and down season for the Bulldog offense, in which Beck showed some concerning signs for a guy who was thought of as highly accurate coming into the year. Multiple-interception games abounded for Beck, and he was a point of concern far too often for Bulldog fans this past year.
This is symptomatic of a larger offensive regression that has taken place in Athens since the departure of Todd Monken. It's not just the lack of Monken's presence that has wreaked such havoc on the Bulldog offense, though— it's who they replaced him with.
Mike Bobo's offensive outputs at his previous stops— Colorado State, South Carolina, Auburn, and now UGA— have been pretty suspect. With two years now gone in his return to Athens, the downturn has been pretty obvious— which makes Noah Thomas's decision to transfer there all that much stranger.
Carson Beck transfer shows Noah Thomas's decision to land in Athens is a step backwards for former Texas A&M football WR's career
Noah Thomas's decision to transfer raised a lot of eyebrows for Texas A&M football fans, as the upgraded receiver room looked to be a boon for the former Aggie WR's production next year. As a number one option, Thomas struggled— he was rarely doubled, but still had issues getting open consistently and giving the effort you'd want to see out of a guy in that position.
However, his destination was even more of a question mark. Thomas's decision to head to Athens was clearly not a move towards a higher-output offense— something to boost his numbers before a jump to the NFL— which made Aggie fans wonder just why he decided to leave in the first place.
There is no shortage of receiver-friendly offenses in college football. And yet, Thomas decided to hitch his wagon to... Mike Bobo. The wisdom of that decision was considered questionable— now, with the news of Beck's transfer, I think we can all see that it was tragically lacking.