Follow us on Twitter@HHReynolds or Click Here to get HHR in your inbox.
So much talent. Now what?The Cynic: Harrison Beck was on everybody’s 2005 recruiting radar. Rated as the third-best pro-style QB recruit in the nation (behind Mark Sanchez and Jonathan Crompton; 12 spots ahead of Colt McCoy), he chose Nebraska over offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss and North Carolina State, among others. When he arrived in Lincoln, Beck was supposed to be the savior—the one who would take Bill Callahan’s West Coast Offense by the reins and resurrect a declining Nebraska program. But after a disappointing freshman year, in which he saw very limited action and finished just 1-10 for 21 yards and an INT, cracks in Beck’s seemingly invincible armor began to appear.
Fast forward to two-a-days in August 2006. Beck skipped a couple days worth of practice. Reports circulated that he was upset with his lack of playing time (having dropped to third on the depth chart) and was looking to transfer. However, he supposedly had second thoughts and had asked for (and received) Callahan’s permission to rejoin the team. Then it happened. And by “it,” I mean Harrison’s mom. A Lincoln paper quoted Evelyn Beck-Bothwell as saying that Harrison was being treated unfairly and that, if he was given a fair amount of repetitions in practice, he would be the starter.
While there were few positives about the Bill Callahan era at Nebraska, most Husker fans would agree starting QB Zac Taylor was one of the toughest SOB’s to ever put on the scarlet and cream. He was the unquestioned leader of that 2006 team, popular with both the fans and the players. So to say that Mrs. Beck-Bothwell’s comments badmouthing Taylor and #2 QB (and eventual starter) Joe Ganz were not well-received would be a massive understatement. Once the comments became public, too many bridges had been burned and Coach Callahan quietly told Beck that it would probably be in everybody’s best interest if he were to continue his career elsewhere.
My mommy says I'm special.So Beck packed his bags and headed back east, eventually landing at North Carolina State.
####
Rusty: Harrison Beck’s tenure in Raleigh was as stable as an episode of MTV’s The Real World. Beck was mired in a post-Rivers stable of mediocre quarterbacks. After sitting the mandatory first year required by the NCAA, Beck was narrowly edged out by NC State legacy Daniel Evans for Tom O'Brien's debut as the Wolfpack coach. Evans' first game under O'Brien wasn't pretty, and Beck soon found himself with the starting job. However, his two touchdowns thrown in
relief of Evans would be his only ones of the season. Despite his Hulk Hogan arm and cocksure swagger, Beck helped the Wolfpack stumble to a basement dwelling 1-4 start by throwing 8 interceptions in 5 games. His only win as a starter that year came against lowly D1-AA Wofford.
In his second year in Raleigh, Beck would only get the starting nod once, having bee relegated to the backup role for soon-to-be-named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Russell Wilson. His one start was certainly one for the record books--3 picks, no touchdowns, and a completion percentage of less than 30 percent. Much to the delight of Wolfpack nation, it would be the last action he saw in the regular season, though rumors circulated that his mother was fashioning vodoo dolls of Coach O'Brien. In fact, by that point relations had soured so much between the formerly heralded recruit that, when he did see action again in the Papa John's Bowl, he seemed to relish completing his only pass of the game . . . to the Rutgers secondary. The other players in red-n-white didn't find Beck's 16th interception to only 119 career completions nearly as funny. (For you math whizzes out there, that means he completed 13 percent of his passes to the guys wearing the other uniform over his career for the Wolfpack.)
Sadly, even after leaving NC State, Beck remained defiant, basically saying that his poor performance wasn't his fault and seemed to outright endorse the idea that he was more interested in throwing deep balls and making SportsCenter highlight reels than executing the coaches' game plan: "That's [deep passes] a little different than what I've ever had [at NC State]. It was always, 'Don't lose the game,' 'Don't throw that,' 'Check it down to the fullback, throw it short, take that stuff.'" Quite the team guy.
Action shot of Beck not checking down.
####
After washing out at two BCS conference schools, Beck accepted an offer to play for new coach Terry Bowden at Division II North Alabama. In fairness, he did have a solid senior season: Beck threw for 31 TDs, more than 3,800 yards and finished sixth in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the D-II equivalent of the Heisman. But, in typical Beck fashion, he managed to throw his former coaches and teammates under the bus, saying his success was due to having receivers and a coach who "understand who I am as a quarterback."
Beck taking one for the team. Or not.
####
Still, this one year of D-II success is a far cry from the lofty visions that Beck, his mom and the various recruitniks around the country had for him in 2005. Beck may have been talented, but his ego and inability to play the coach’s game that kept him on the sideline and ultimately on the bus to Alabama.
But don’t cry for Harrison Beck. He’ll always have a place in history—as the only player whose mommy ever got him kicked off the team.
Ticket out of town.
Self portrait of The Cynic. Well, at least I’ve got the hair right.
A PAINFUL START
Last Thursday’s South Carolina/North Carolina State game may have been the worst game I’ve ever seen. Look, I love defense and a 7-3 slugfest between two dominant defenses would thrill me. But a 7-3 game that’s the result of two completely inept offenses is a very different story. The two teams combined for just 389 yards, 12 punts and 5 turnovers on downs. Out of 22 drives, only 3 went for more than 50 yards and 13 went for 5 or less plays. But on the bright side, my ophthalmologist says the ice pick didn’t do any permanent damage to my eyes.
Oh, Fun ‘n Gun, why have you forsaken me?!
WORST. DEBUT. EVER.
When Sports Illustrated decided to do four different covers for its college football preview edition, you just knew that one of them was going to get smacked down in Week One. Unfortunately for Oregon, SI decided to dole out a quadruple dose of cover jinx hurt on the Ducks. There were plenty of people, myself included, who thought Oregon had a real shot to dethrone USC in the PAC 10 this year. And then the season kicked off. Lost in the over-coverage of RB LeGarrette Blount’s postgame punch was the fact that Oregon coach Chip Kelly had one of the worst first games in recent memory. The game wasn’t as close as the 19-8 score would indicate. Boise State completely controlled the game (outgaining Oregon 361 to 152) against a Duck team that clearly was not ready for primetime. Kelly now faces the unenviable task of getting his team refocused after embarrassing themselves on national TV and losing their best offensive player in the process. You know things have officially gone south when you end up on Texts From Last Night:
(541): Its like we are women, and boise state is a gangster rap song. This game is degrading
Wonder how much Phil Knight would pay to never be on the cover again?
NCAA FLAG FOOTBALL
To paraphrase Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Tis better to have played and lost than never to have played at all. This is a lesson that Division II St. Paul’s College (VA) learned the hard way this week when they had to forfeit their season opener against West Virginia Wesleyan. The reason? No helmets or pads. St. Paul’s claimed that they’ve just been practicing in shorts and t-shirts and had ordered new equipment, but it wouldn’t be ready before the game. To add insult to injury, St. Paul’s is now on the hook for a cancellation penalty in their contract, and West Virginia Wesleyan say they will go after St. Paul’s to reimburse them for 40 hotel rooms for which they had to pay.
100 years of helmets. You’d think that’d be something on the “to do before the season starts” list.
BLOCK ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. BLOCK ME TWICE . . .
Has there ever been a crazier seven-second roller coaster ride than the one to which I-AA Northern Iowa was subjected last week? The Panthers were one field goal kick away from knocking off #22 Iowa (high). Then Iowa blocked the field goal (low). But Northern Iowa recovered the ball with one second left, giving them another shot (super high). But Iowa blocks the kick . . . again (boot to the groin low). All within seven seconds. Let’s hope UNI coach Mark Farley spent a little more time than that working on special teams this week.
For all my new readers, one final disclaimer: I always try to close my posts on a brighter note. A little under-the-radar story that brings hope to the college football world. So here goes. . .
A RAY OF ORANGE SUNSHINE
While Boise State and BYU both did their best to prove my preseason “no undefeated non-BCS teams” prediction wrong, nobody had a bigger week than the Oklahoma State Cowboys. How big was the Oklahoma State/Georgia game? A week ago Sunday (as in six days before the game), I drove through Stillwater, OK (with the obligatory stop at Eskimo Joe’s) and saw a guy on the corner by the stadium holding up an “I Need Tickets” sign. When the scalpers are already out working a week ahead of time, you know it’s a big deal. For the last year, Big 12 fans have heard how the Big 12 couldn’t compete with a real SEC defense. So it had to do Cowboy fans good to see their team, which struggled on defense (to say the least) last year, step up and out-defense Georgia. Georgia took the opening drive 80 yards for TD, and people started thinking “here we go again.” But that and a third quarter field goal represented the only two times UGA crossed midfield. On a day when OSU’s potent offense was clearly not clicking on all cylinders, the Cowboy defense held Georgia to just 257 total yards, all in the cozy confines of T. Boone Pickens’ new $300 million stadium. Granted, Georgia clearly missed Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. But OSU proved to be more than able to handle this year’s Dawgs. If their defense can continue to play at this level, you now have to include Oklahoma State as a legitimate title contender.
Not sure it was a $300 million win, but it was a very good one.
Follow us on Twitter@HHReynolds or Click Here to get HHR in your inbox.
