[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]John Beck
Height:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]6' 02-1/8"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Weight:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]215[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]40 Yrd Dash:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]4.75[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]20 Yrd Dash:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]2.70[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]10 Yrd Dash:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]1.62[/FONT]
Overview
After graduating from Mountain View High School in 2000, football was the furthest thing on the mind of John Beck, as he embarked on a three-year church mission. By the close of the 2006 season, all that was on the mind of Brigham Young fans was the vision of Beck earning Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors seven times en route to being named the MWC's Player of the Year.
In his four seasons with the Cougars, Beck went from fourth on the quarterback depth chart to the holder of several school records, displaying the talent that has been a staple at the quarterback position during BYU's glory days, reminding faithful of Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, Jim McMahon and Steve Young.
Beck moved into the starting lineup late in his freshman year, as the team struggled to a 4-8 finish. He took over full-time starting duties in 2004, as the team went 5-6 for the season. The Cougars returned to postseason action in 2005, as they put together a 6-6 campaign.
Then, it all came together for the Cougars in 2006, as Beck guided the team to an 11-victory season, only the ninth time in BYU annals a squad won as many games. He capped off a storied career by guiding the team to its first bowl victory since BYU beat Kansas State in the 1996 Cotton Bowl. Brigham Young's 38-8 victory over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl marked the Cougars' largest margin of victory in a bowl game. The previous best was a 25-point victory over Oklahoma in the 1994 Copper Bowl.
Beck was named the Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete at Mountain View High School, where he lettered three times in football. He earned first-team All-Region, All-State, USA Today All-American honorable mention and Dairyman first-team All-American honors. He was also selected Region Offensive Player of the Year, garnered first-team Super All-State and Super All-State Player-of-the-Year honors and recognized as the Arizona High School Football Player of the Year during his senior season.
Beck earned both the Ed Dougherty and Fred Enke Awards (Arizona Quarterback of the Year) and was named the MVP during the state championship game as a senior. He was selected as the Arizona All-Star game Most Valuable Player and recognized by Fox Sports as the Arizona Class 5A Player of the Year, leading Mountain View to a state championship as a senior. He posted an overall record of 25-2 over his junior and senior seasons and holds the Arizona high school record with 42 touchdown completions in a single season with only four interceptions. Beck also lettered twice in baseball as a pitcher and an infielder.
After serving on a church mission in Lisbon, Portugal (2000-2002), the former Eagle Scout, who began playing organized football at age eight, returned to BYU in 2003. His father, Wendell, had starred for the school's track and field team.
He played in eight games, becoming only the second true freshman in school history to start a game (four total), when he answered the opening bell for the Stanford game. He missed the New Mexico game after suffering a concussion vs. Southern California and missed three late-season contests with a broken bone in his right hand, but still managed to hit on 73 of 145 passes (50.3 percent) for 864 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions, earning Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors. He ran for another score and finished with 885 yards in total offense.
Beck started 10 of 11 games in 2004, picking up second-team All-MWC accolades. He suffered a right shoulder separation vs. Notre Dame in the season opener, but went on to complete 192 of 343 tosses (56.0 percent) for 2,563 yards and 15 touchdowns while throwing eight interceptions. He also collected 2,527 yards in total offense and set school and MWC single-game records by attempting 67 passes against UNLV.
The All-Mountain West Conference and Academic All-MWC first-team pick was also named team MVP in 2005. He helped the team rank sixth in the nation in passing, averaging 310.08 yards per game, connecting on 331 of 513 throws (64.5 percent) for 3,709 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. BYU finished 13th in the nation with an average of 462.42 yards per game in total offense...Beck scored twice on 73 carries, caught a three-yard pass and assisted on one tackle.
The MWC Offensive Player of the Year, Beck ranked second in the nation with a 169.05 passer-efficiency rating. He only completed 147 of 289 passes (69.3 percent), but surpassed his previous season total of 3,709 yards with 3,885 on 41 fewer pass completions. He had 32 touchdowns with only eight interceptions and ran for six scores. His average of 323.08 yards per game ranked fourth nationally, and his 169.05 efficiency rating ranked second.
In 43 games at Brigham Young, Beck started 38 times. He gained 11,021 yards on 885 of 1,418 passes (62.4 percent) with 79 touchdowns and 34 interceptions. Beck rushed 267 times for 38 yards (0.1-yard average) and nine scores. He recorded two tackles and had a three-yard reception. On 1,685 plays, he gained 11,059 yards in total offense, an average of 257.19 yards per game.
Analysis
Positives: Has a lean frame with room for additional growth, showing average overall muscle tone, good arm length and large, soft hands...Runs with a normal stride and has the functional hip snap to change directions and avoid pocket pressure...Has good balance and adequate body control throwing on the move, demonstrating good hip rotation...Has decent foot quickness in his pass set and shows good quick-twitch muscle fibers...Very intelligent player who has no problem executing a complicated game plan...Student of the game who breaks down opposing film and does a good job of making adjustments on the field...Plays through pain (see 2006 Boston College game) and shows very good poise in the pocket and confidence in his protection, as it is rare to see him bolt too early, as he will stand tall and take some shots under pressure...Has good throwing mechanics and sets his feet with agility and solid base...Even with just average timed speed, his feet appear light when forced to move out of the pocket...In 2006, he received much better pocket protection, allowing him to take his time making reads to locate secondary targets...Displays awareness to anticipate when the receiver is coming out of the breaks...With his three-quarters delivery and natural hands, Beck is very effective at getting the ball out quickly...Shows very good arm whip to get the ball out in time to hit the receivers coming out of their breaks...In the short-to-intermediate area, Beck's tosses show good zip and velocity...Generates the same velocity, whether throwing off his front or back foot and has the touch to fire the ball into tight areas underneath and shows good hip rotation to generate a tight spiral...Demonstrates the ability to hit his targets in stride working in the short areas...Has better timing underneath than when airing the ball out, as he shows a good feel for route progression...Does a good job of maintaining good accuracy on his throws along the perimeter...Good at making pre-snap judgment calls...Not only reduced his interceptions from 13 in 2005 to eight in 2006, but also increased his yardage output (from 3,709 to 3,885) while attempting 96 less passes...Has good timing and touch working in the intermediate area and has the ability to adjust on the move, thanks to his good field vision...Gutsy field general, evident by his performance playing on two bad ankles vs. Boston College in 2006...Effective at rolling out to locate his receivers, showing good accuracy throwing on the move...Won't win foot races past the line of scrimmage, but knows how to square his shoulders and follow his blockers on goal-line running plays.
Negatives: Needs to add more bulk and strength to his frame to absorb punishment in the pocket and, even though he is able to move around the pocket, he is no threat running with the ball...Has good arm strength for the short-to-intermediate area, but realizes that he lacks the raw power to air the ball out consistently, keeping the game plan within his athletic talents...Lacks ideal height and valid speed, but makes up for it with good short-area avoid skills and a quick release to unleash the ball on time...Will sometimes revert to locking on to his primary target, resulting in him throwing into double coverage (see 2006 Boston College and New Mexico games)...Sets his feet well on delivery, but will show a bit of a wind-up when he releases the ball over the top rather than his normal, three-quarters delivery...When he attempts to air it out, the ball tends to float and fall off, causing the receivers to break off their routes...Needs to do a better job of dropping the deep ball in over the outside shoulder of the receiver, as the ball floats too much on fade and long throws (deep passes will come off his hands too high, as it floats and lofts)...Stands tall in the pocket under pressure and won't panic and try to run with the ball, but most of his sacks are the result of Beck sitting too long at the Xs, as he knows he has only adequate slide-quickness in attempts to roll out...Has the mobility to elude some pocket pressure, but lacks the suddenness to avoid, tuck the ball and head upfield.
Compares To: MARC BULGER, St. Louis Rams (West Virginia)...Beck is not as tall as Bulger, but both get most of their success by showing patience waiting for their targets to get open and neither will try to force the ball into a crowd. Beck is better served in the intermediate game, as he lacks the arm strength to consistently go deep, but he is good at hitting his receivers on the move. He won't win a footrace as a runner, but has the loose hips and short-area quickness to avoid pressure and make plays on roll-outs.
