Carson Beck did not see the play that may be the best play of the 2025 season.
Under pressure from Notre Dame’s defense late in the first half, Beck tossed a pass high toward veteran wide receiver CJ Daniels, trusting that the fellow transfer would be able to haul it in.
“I had to back up a little bit, and I threw it off my back foot as I was getting thrown to the ground,” Beck said. “So I didn’t even see him catch it. I just saw him in the end zone.”
The throw was high, but Daniels snatched the ball out of the air with one hand, preventing a possible interception and scoring an improbable go-ahead touchdown for the Hurricanes in both Beck and Daniels’ first game at UM.
“I think he does a good job of just envisioning plays and seeing things happening before they happen,” Beck said. “And we kind of talked about how there was a look that we got in practice on a similar play, and we had talked about just go over the top, and I’m going to just put it high, and you just go up and get it.
“And I’ll be damned if it didn’t happen in the game exactly how we talked about it after practice.”
Because Miami was playing then-No. 6 Notre Dame in a primetime game on ABC, the praise for Daniels’ spectacular catch was immediate. ESPN called it a “catch of the year nominee.” The Reddit College Football X account made a silhouetted logo of Daniels’ catch and posted it on social media.
CJ Daniels pic.twitter.com/40oBrTdXGv
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 1, 2025
The Hurricanes still had a game to win, and they finished it off with a game-winning field goal by Carter Davis. But when Daniels looked at his phone after the game, it was getting swamped with messages.
“It was definitely a lot,” Daniels said. “Can’t really give you a number.”
The play was later highlighted as the top play on SportsCenter’s top 10 on Monday. Although Daniels said he does not usually pay much attention to outside praise, that was special.
“It was definitely cool. Definitely a kid’s dream to be on SportsCenter,” Daniels said. “But I think what I’m most proud of is as a team, as a whole, the effort that we played with.”
Daniels ended his first game as a Hurricane with five catches for 46 yards. If it had been up to coach Mario Cristobal, it would not have been Daniels’ first game at UM. Cristobal pursued Daniels when he was in the portal after the 2023 season, as well, but Daniels chose to go to LSU.
“I tried, brother, I tried. Trust me, I tried to the ends of the Earth and beyond,” Cristobal said Monday. “Watching him at Liberty. I thought he was an unbelievable, high-level playmaker. The guy’s contested catch rate was off the charts. Catch radius was huge. Could run the entire route tree with ease. Could play inside, could play outside, had length and just demeanor-wise, and all the background checking was about a guy that was a true pro about his approach.”
Daniels, a sixth-year senior, will spend only one season with the Hurricanes. Are there more highlight reel catches coming? Possibly.
“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Daniels said. “It was just the world was surprised. I know I’m capable of making any play. When the ball (is) in the air, I just feel like it’s really just me and the ball.”
