Thursday, August 25, 2011
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Brandon Beachum
By Joe Scalzo
Earlier this summer, Brandon Beachum spent about a month and a half studying in Sevilla, Spain, a southern city known for its laid-back lifestyle (“The whole city literally shuts down from 3 to 5 for a siesta,” he said), its Arabic-style food (“The best is the couscous, with chorizo [sausage], squash, cucumber and a bunch of other vegetables — it’s really good”) and, of course, its love of refreshing beverages.
“They serve beer at McDonald’s,” Beachum said, laughing. “You can get beer anywhere.”
A onetime Spanish minor, Beachum lived with a woman who spoke no English (“I spoke well enough to get around,” he said) and learned to live with European annoyances such as the lack of free refills or free water at restaurants (“Really annoying”) and the rarity of find a free public restroom.
“That actually kind of sucked,” he said, laughing. “I’d just hop into three or four until I found a free one.”
One night in Sevilla, Beachum went to an American-style bar called the “Long Island Bar,” which features memorabilia from all 50 states.
“They had a Penn State football jersey and a Penn State flag,” he said. “It was really strange to see Penn State stuff in Spain but I loved it.”
It’s telling that it took until the the sixth paragraph of a Beachum feature to mention Penn State, but that’s sort of how things went over the past year. After appearing in every game as a true freshman in 2008, the Cardinal Mooney graduate played the first 11 games of 2009 before tearing the ACL in his right knee in the season finale against Indiana.
When it became clear he wasn’t 100 percent in last summer’s training camp, he opted to redshirt, despite knowing he’d be fully recovered by midseason.
“It was brutal having to sit out a whole season but I think what made it especially difficult was that I was able to play by late September,” he said. “I was able to do all the things everyone else was doing but when Saturday came around, I wasn’t dressed.
“That was the hardest part.”
Beachum spent last fall practicing with the scout team and was at full strength in the spring. With three-year starter and all-time rushing leader Evan Royster now with the Washington Redskins, and senior Stephfon Green no longer with the team, Beachum is competing with sophomore Silas Reed for the featured tailback spot.
“I feel like I made the right decision,” he said. “Evan had a great season last year and there weren’t many carries to go around. Now the position is wide open.”
Beachum is one of two Mooney graduates in the Nittany Lions’ backfield. Junior Michael Zordich, who appeared in every game last season and scored three touchdowns, will split time at fullback with Joe Suhey.
“He’s doing great,” Beachum said of Zordich. “He had a helluva summer camp and put on a lot of good weight. And he’s as strong as ever.”
Beachum (6-0, 227), who recently finished his advertising degree and is working on another in psychology, has carried 52 times for 227 yards in his career while splitting time between tailback and fullback. He said he doesn’t have any goals, numbers-wise, for this season.
“I just want to be an impact player,” he said. “I want to be a guy that the other team says, ‘He’s a factor for that offense.’
“And, more than anything, I just want to help our team win games.”