Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops details how Kentucky plans on utilizing Dee Beckwith.
The Southeastern Conference media days are taking place at the College Football Hall of Fame and The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops took part in media days Wednesday.
Stoops discussed Dee Beckwith transferring from Tennessee to Kentucky.
“With Dee, he is a large athlete,” Stoops said. “He’s a big boy. He’s a guy that can confuse you at times because he can play so many different positions. That’s the nice thing. That’s what Rich (Scangarello) really liked about him and we liked about him as a staff, was we could be very multiple with him.
“If you watched the 49ers in the past, some of the creativity, different things we could use with a big guy like that, could play wideout, H-back, different things, so we’ll move him around.”
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Beckwith appeared in five games for the Vols from 2020-21, totaling 27 rushing yards on four attempts.
In 2021, Beckwith recorded two rushing yards on one attempt against South Alabama Nov. 20.
Josh Heupel details Tennessee’s skill players stepping up this spring.
Tennessee practiced for the 11th time this spring on Saturday.
Saturday’s practice took place at Neyland Stadium and was Tennessee’s second scrimmage this spring.
First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media following the Vols’ scrimmage. He discussed which skill players that have stepped up during Tennessee’s two spring scrimmages.
“I don’t know that it’s been the same guys,” Heupel said. “I think you see guys periodically throughout practice or throughout the scrimmage make some plays. I think at the running back position, Jabari Small has done a fantastic job. He understands how we want to play. He understands what we’re doing. He’s been good without the ball in his hands and not just with the ball in his hands at the running back position. I feel like he’s in a really good spot, and he does some really good things. Dee Beckwith has had some flashes at the running back position, as well. He’s starting to understand how to play that position. A unique guy in that he’s played multiple positions in a short amount of time coming out of high school, having played some quarterback as well. He’s grown into a guy that is understating the running back position, learning how to play with pad leverage. His size is a positive, but he’s also got to learn how to get pad under pad, and he’s starting to do that.
“The tight ends, that group have all made plays. (Austin) Pope coming back off of injury, he’s done some really good things, obviously, he’s the most mature guy in the room or has the most experience. Princeton Fant has made plays. (Jacob) Warren has made plays. That’s a group that has great depth and a lot of consistency in it. They are able to play in the box and outside. At the wide receiver position, I’ve talked about those guys before, but I like that group as far as their understanding and competitive nature. Velus Jones Jr., (Cedric) Tillman have made some plays. Jalin Hyatt has made some plays, getting back on the practice field here and done a really good job.”
Tennessee will conclude spring practices with its annual Chevrolet Orange & White Game on April 24 at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee practiced Tuesday for the sixth time this spring at Haslam Field.
Following practice, Tennessee’s running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media.
Mack discussed the development of 6-foot-5, 227-pound redshirt freshman running back Dee Beckwith.
“Dee is doing a really incredible job of just continuing to learn the finer details of the position every single day,” Mack said. “We talk a lot about just playing with low pad level because he is a taller, bigger back, so just getting his pad level down.
“He played so many different things in high school, and last year I think they moved him around a little bit, so he is finally in a situation where he is kind of getting settled in on a position. You talk about extremely intelligent, answering questions in the meetings and just that quarterback background that he has. You can just tell that he has a sense of the entire game, situational football and how everything kind of fits together, so been really pleased with his progress over the last few practices.”
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Beckwith totaled 25 rushing yards on three attempts in 2020.
He played quarterback, running back and wide receiver at Florence High School in Florence, Alabama.
Dee Beckwith enters his second season at Tennessee.
The 6-foot-5, 227-pound redshirt freshman played in Tennessee’s final three games last season on special teams and at running back.
Beckwith totaled 25 rushing yards on three attempts in 2020.
Following Tennessee’s second spring practice, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Golesh discussed Beckwith within the Vols’ offense and his “fascinating body-type.”
“We’ve spent a bunch of time talking about Dee,” Golesh said. “I think our plan right now is to keep him at running back and let him learn a position, let him get comfortable there. I think it’s really hard to evaluate guys if you move them around a whole bunch.”
Golesh mentioned Beckwith has shown promise and flashes early on.
“You just have to get used to, as a coach, seeing a different body-type there and seeing a different skill set,” Golesh said. “It’s our job as coaches to use those skill sets in the right way.”
Dee Beckwith can be used for ‘Taysom Hill type stuff, hand it to him, throw it to him or Wildcat quarterback’
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee capped off its 2020 recruiting class Feb. 5, adding Dee Beckwith on National Signing Day.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Beckwith is from Florence High School in Florence, Alabama. Beckwith’s high school head coach Will Hester previously discussed how his former player can be used in a variety of ways.
During fall training camp ahead of Tennessee’s first game at South Carolina Sept. 26, Beckwith has spent time at running back.
Tennessee running backs coach Jay Graham met with media Wednesday to discuss Beckwith practicing in the Vols’ backfield.
“Dee has done a really good job,” Graham told reporters on a Zoom call. “In high school he did some Wildcat and some things, so he had an understanding of it. When he first moved over, it hadn’t been long, but I tried to stick with what he does naturally and adjust from there. I think he’s done well with it.
“There’s been some times where we had to get him in position and I had to yell some things at him just as far as technique goes, but I think he’s done a really good job so far there. For a taller guy, he has the athleticism to do it and to play the position, so he’s been a really big help for us.”
KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 – Wide receiver Dee Beckwith #21 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics
Fall training camp: Tee Martin details freshman Dee Beckwith
KNOXVILLE — Tee Martin enters his second season as Tennessee’s wide receivers coach.
The Vols’ wide receiver unit is one that brings in a lot of new and talented players. Freshman Dee Beckwith is one of the newcomers and is likely to see the field early during the 2020 season.
KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 19, 2020 – Wide receiver Dee Beckwith #21 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics
Martin met with media Wednesday and discussed the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Beckwith.
“Dee bounces back and forth between the wide receiver room and the tight end room,” Martin said on a Zoom call. “He’s kind of a hybrid receiver/tight end-type of body. He hasn’t been around for a few days, but when he was there, he was progressing quickly.”
Martin mentioned that Beckwith is “fast, big and physical” and understands “the nuances of the game and the feel from when he’s outside versus when he’s inside.”
“When he’s in the core, possibly putting his hands down, we haven’t decided yet if we’re going to actually progress him that far at that position yet, but he has the skillset,” Martin continued to discuss Beckwith. “He has the want to. He’s a young man that’s always around asking questions, always trying to watch extra film and improve himself. That’s what you want from a young guy. He just needs a lot of reps.”
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee capped off its 2020 recruiting class Feb. 5 on National Signing Day.
The Vols will take to the practice field March 9 to kickoff spring practices in preparation for the 2020 season.
Tennessee added two players on National Signing Day, including Dee Beckwith from Florence High School in Florence, Ala.
On National Signing Day, Beckwith’s high school head coach Will Hester discussed Tennessee’s latest signee and the type of player he is.
“I can see him being used a lot like Jauan Jennings or Taysom Hill with the New Orleans Saints, meaning some wide receiver, some at Wildcat quarterback and some jet sweep-type stuff,” Hester said of Beckwith.
Hester joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” that is co-hosted by Rush Propst on Feb. 8 to further discuss Beckwith signing with Tennessee and the type of player he is.
“Having coached in Tennessee and coached against Jauan Jennings, Dee is a very similar player to Jauan,” Hester said of Beckwith. “He started out as a basketball player and was playing high-level AAU when we got to Florence two years ago.
“He is an unbelievable athlete and probably the most athletic kid that I have been around. What he brings to Tennessee, he is going to be in the receiver room with all of those other guys and do the things that it takes to be successful, whether they move him around anywhere. Coach (Jim) Chaney is talking about Taysom Hill type stuff, whether they hand it to him, throw it to him or be the Wildcat quarterback. Dee is a humble kid and really hated the recruiting process, hated having to talk on the phone, text messages and all of that kind of stuff. He really just wanted to sign and get it over with and move on. He just had to figure out which spot was best for him.”
Propst discussed the importance of having Wildcat and short-yardage packages and practicing it everyday in preparation for when it s needed during a game.
“Everyday there were two things that I did in practice,” Propst said. “I would have a short-yardage package with more of an athlete under center — sort of an unbalanced set with a wingback and a fullback — and then a wide receiver, a great wide receiver. Our short-yardage package, we were 99 percent effective in short-yardage and red zone attack. We spent ten minutes a day in that offense starting in the spring and then the Wildcat we would do the exact same thing.
“So 20 minutes a day, everyday, and it probably drops to ten minutes, both packages, on certain days, if your quarterback was that good, that we would spend on that offense.”
A situational-type player in Beckwith, who is set to arrive at Tennessee, is someone Pruitt understands the importance in having to win games.
Pruitt’s understanding of having situational-type players and also cross-training student-athletes at different positions, on offense and defense, dates back to his time as a high school coach.
“If you want to win football games, you have to think outside the box,” Hester said. “It goes back to his (Pruitt) high school experience and how to be a coach at Fort Payne or how to be a coach wherever, and you only have what you have – and create what you have. That is why he has done so well with a limited roster because he is not afraid to ask whoever to play whatever position and to do whatever that makes the team better.”
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
The Vols now have a deep wide receiver unit heading into Pruitt’s third season. Players such as Georgia transfer Deangelo Gibbs, who has cross-trained on offense and defense, is a student-athlete who can help his team, like Beckwith, in playing a position and role that will help Tennessee.
“He is a true coach,” Propst said of Pruitt cross-training players such as Gibbs on defense with a wide receiver unit full of depth. “Here is the difference with Jeremy. A lot of these guys are system guys and they are compartmentalized so bad. Jeremy has had to do different things in his career, coaching offense, defense – had to do this, had to do that and handle this situation, that situation.”
The entire interview with Hester and Propst can be listened to here or below.
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee football put its finishing touches on the 2020 recruiting class on Wednesday, rounding out Jeremy Pruitt’s third class since taking over as the head coach in Knoxville.
Tennessee’s wide receiver room gained a physical specimen with the signing of Dee Beckwith, bringing the Florence, Ala. native to Knoxville.
Beckwith is listed as a 3-star prospect and the No. 18 athlete in the 2020 class on the 247Sports Composite, but expect him to join Tee Martin’s wide receiver corps when he arrives on campus before the season.
A dual-athlete at Florence High School, playing both football and basketball, Beckwith brings a 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame that is as physically imposing as any wideout on Tennessee’s roster at the moment. Florida, Auburn and Florida State were heavily in the running for Beckwith, among several others.
“He (Beckwith) is a guy who can project to play a lot of positions,” said Pruitt during his press conference on Wednesday. “He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands and we will give him that chance.”
According to Pruitt, Beckwith could play basketball under Rick Barnes at Tennessee, joining fellow football signee Malachi Wideman on the hardwood. Pruitt and his staff have an affinity for players that cross-train with multiple positions or sports, and that was on full display as National Signing Day came to an end on Wednesday.
FLORENCE — 2020 prospect Dee Beckwith has signed with Tennessee.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound athlete is from Florence High School in Florence, Ala.
The Vols signed 21 players during the Early Signing Period and have added Beckwith to its 2020 recruiting class on National Signing Day.
Florence head coach Will Hester discussed Beckwith with Vols Wire, saying the 2020 prospect who runs a 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash can be used at numerous positions at the next level.
“I can see him being used a lot like Jauan Jennings or Taysom Hill with the New Orleans Saints, meaning some wide receiver, some at Wildcat quarterback and some jet sweep-type stuff,” Hester said of Beckwith.
Hester also mentioned that the Tennessee 2020 target is both vocal and can allow his actions be a way of providing leadership for his team.
Beckwith most recently visited Tennessee on Jan. 19.
