Beasley excited about chance to start against Auburn

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Aug 23 14:33:10 GMT-04:00 2012

CLEMSON – David Beasley David Beasley
RS So. Offensive Guard
#68 6-4, 315
Columbus, GA
View Full Profile grew up almost in the shadow of the Georgia-Alabama state line, a mere 30 minutes from Auburn University, and as a result he was raised to be an Auburn fan.

Beasley was almost an afterthought when it came to preseason talk about contenders for offensive line spots, but played well enough the last few weeks of camp to earn the starting spot at left guard, meaning his first ever collegiate start will occur against the team he grew up rooting for in his home state.

Beasley is out of G.W. Carver High School in Columbus, Ga., and redshirted the 2010 season. In 2011, he played just 30 snaps over five games, but should surpass that total in the first half against the team he grew up watching.

“I was thinking that that would be a great feeling,” Beasley told TigerNet about starting in the Georgia Dome against Auburn. “I played there once in high school for the state championship, and I want to go back. Georgia is my home state. And my whole family is full of Auburn fans. My dad coached with [former Auburn coach] Tommy Tuberville. That will be special.”

Beasley said that when it came time to make his choice of where to play collegiately, Auburn was too close to home for comfort.

“Auburn is 30 minutes away and that is too close to home,” he said. “It just wasn’t the right place for me. I would have been in trouble if I had stayed too close. And Clemson – the coaches are like family and they treat you like family. I knew I couldn’t be a little kid and stay close to home, even though I liked Auburn. I just felt like Clemson was the right fit for me, and that Clemson would make me a better player.”

Beasley said he worked hard in camp to try and earn a starting spot, competing early on with Kalon DavisKalon Davis
RS So. Offensive Guard
#67 6-5, 330
Chester, SC
View Full Profile – the front runner for the spot – and even split time with Ryan NortonRyan Norton
RS Fr. Offensive Line
#58 6-3, 270
Mauldin, SC
View Full Profile , who figures to be the backup center.

“My hard work and dedication allowed me to assume that spot,” Beasley said. “And the Lord, I would like to thank the Lord. I feel like because of Him I should be a better player for Him and my family. I felt like on the field I should show the coaches I am dedicated and that I would work hard. I am doing everything full speed and doing everything right. I just want it so bad. Kalon is a great player and I knew I had a great player in front of me. I knew I had to get better to match up with him.”

Beasley said he feels like he finally turned the corner when he started paying more attention to his playbook.

“With me, it is always mental errors, mental mistakes,” he said. “Every day, I take my play book home and I open it. If you open my playbook, I have nothing but notes. I write down everything Coach [Robbie] Caldwell says about everything. And I go home and I sit there and I read my notes and learn the steps. What do I do when we do this, what to do on certain plays – I take it all in and I want to focus on everything.

He also promises he isn’t going to let this chance slip away.

“I have to keep that same attitude,” he said. “I can't let myself drop because I get tired or because I feel mentally drained. I can't let myself down. I have come too far to earn a spot and I am not going to let the last couple of days take my position away from me. I am about to go hard. I am going to be the best player I can. Clemson fans are going to want to put my jersey on. I am going to go as hard as I can.”

Beasley said he weighed in at 335 before the spring, but inow has 310 pounds on his 6-5 frame after summer conditioning.

“What I did was I stuck with coach [Joey] Batson and the nutritionist and listened to what they had to say,” he said. “They worked that weight off.”