[osugrad21]

Link

UW gets boost from Beckum Former linebacker is a find a tight end
By Brett Christopherson
Post-Crescent staff writer

MADISON - Stardom was stamped all over Travis Beckum when he joined the University of Wisconsin football team last season as a potential hotshot linebacker.

So, how?s the kid progressing these days?

"He?s a playmaker," Badgers senior quarterback John Stocco said. "I know I can put it up there for him and he?s going to make a great play for me and for our offense."

Offense?

Turns out this little experiment of switching Beckum from one side of the ball to the other is paying off handsomely for the 17th-ranked Badgers, who will carry a four-game winning streak and 7-1 record into Saturday?s Big Ten matchup against Illinois at Camp Randall Stadium.

Despite initially harboring hopes the 6-foot-4, 219-pound sophomore would blossom into a defensive star, Badgers coaches instead are doing back flips after unearthing a player suddenly considered one of the nation?s top tight ends.

Through eight games, the former Oak Creek High School star has 32 receptions for 501 yards - both team highs - and three touchdowns.

He leads the Big Ten in average receiving yards per conference game at 83.2, is averaging 5.3 receptions for 90.8 yards over the past four games and is one of only three tight ends in the nation with at least 500 receiving yards.

By comparison, former UW tight end Owen Daniels, drafted by Houston in the fourth round this past spring and now a starter for the Texans, caught 22 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns a year ago while playing a vital role in an offense that set the school record for points scored in a season with 446.

Talk about finding gold in your own back yard.

"On our roster, we have a certain round of players who we feel can change the game," Badgers coach Bret Bielema said. "And Travis is one of those because of the athleticism that he has, and also because of his speed, his desire to be successful. He came from a very successful high school program. So when he came here to the University of Wisconsin, he was expected to follow that same path."

Of course, that trail was supposed to lead him to an eventual starting spot as an outside linebacker.

As a senior at Oak Creek, Beckum posted 108 tackles, including 38 for a loss, 16 sacks, seven interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
He also proved to be a force offensively with 22 receptions for 506 yards - totals that earned Beckum Associated Press unanimous state player of the year mention and had a list of college football heavyweights drooling to dress him in their colors, which reportedly included Ohio State, Florida State, Miami, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

It?s no wonder Beckum graduated ranked the No. 1 prep football player in Wisconsin and the sixth-best linebacker and the 56th-best player in the country by Rivals.com.

"We knew right away he was a great athlete, but we didn?t know how he?d handle the transition of moving to tight end," Stocco said. "It?s a lot of stuff to think about and a lot of different things that go with that."

Like learning the blocking schemes and absorbing a myriad of offensive plays and formations.

"It?s not something where you can just go down and look at it one day and be fine," said Beckum, who finished with two tackles in a reserve defensive role and on special teams in 10 games with the Badgers last season. "It?s something you have to work at."

Beckum said he initially approached Bielema, then Wisconsin?s defensive coordinator under Barry Alvarez, about the idea of moving to offense late last season.

Recognizing the difficulty in earning playing time given the Badgers? depth at linebacker and defensive end, where he also saw duty last season due to injuries, Beckum sensed an opportunity to get on the field and excel at a tight end spot that would be in need of some help.

"Just me knowing that our top three tight ends from last year were leaving, I thought that I could contribute to the offense and help us move the chains," Beckum said. "It came out well. I watch the game and I?m like, ?Yeah, that?s me.? It feels good just knowing I?m helping the team move the ball."

Added Bielema: "I wanted to be able to put him in a position to get on the football field and have success. Travis would probably be the first to tell you he?s kind of a pretty boy. He likes doing all the things in the spotlight, and he?s handled it very well to this point. We were happy to accommodate him."

So is a Badgers offense that came into the season full of questions and depleted of many of the stars who helped it churn out a school-record 34.3 points per game.

With young receivers struggling to find consistency from the outset, Beckum quickly emerged as Stocco?s favorite target and caught three balls for 49 yards in a season-opening win against Bowling Green.

But it was recent back-to-back games against Northwestern and Minnesota in which he caught a combined 13 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns that Beckum emerged as a serious big-play threat.

Against Minnesota, Stocco opened the second half by hitting Beckum on successive plays of 41 and 40 yards for a two-play, 81-yard scoring drive that took just 50 seconds.

In both cases, Beckum was lined up tight against the line, ran skinny posts over the middle and used his speed - his 40-yard dash time has reportedly been clocked at 4.5 seconds - to find the open pockets downfield.

Beckum finished with five receptions for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 48-12 victory against the Gophers, the latter score a leaping fourth-quarter grab in which he showed off his athleticism by landing his left foot in the back right corner of the end zone before eventually slamming into the Camp Randall Stadium concrete wall.

"I went over to ask him if he was all right, and he said, ?Yeah, but you better go check that concrete out, though,? " Bielema said with a grin. "He?s a playmaker. He?s one of those kids that just has the ability to change the game."

The performance against the Gophers earned Beckum the John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors by the Nassau County (N.Y.) Sports Commission. It also proved noteworthy in another way as Beckum outperformed Minnesota senior Matt Spaeth, the reigning first team all-Big Ten tight end, who finished with four receptions for 42 yards.

So far this season, the 6-7 Spaeth has 35 catches for 439 yards and a pair of TDs.

"I told him he could be a dominant player for us. He could be our big-play guy," Badgers sophomore cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said. "I told him he?s got to want to do that. He?s got to want to go out there and make the big play, and I think he?s starting to realize the kind of talent he has and the caliber of player he can be."

So does Stocco, who scoffed at the notion Beckum is nothing more than his safety valve.

"I?d say main option a lot of times," Stocco said. "A lot of times he?s not exactly in the right spot or doesn?t run exactly the right route. But he just goes up and makes plays, and that?s what it?s all about."