BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — From his earliest playing days with the Bay View Area Redcats, a youth football team in Milwaukee, Travis Beckum was driven to dominate. Dominate the matchup. It didn't matter if he was rushing quarterbacks. Or catching passes from them. His mindset was always the same.
Win the one-on-ones. All-levels. All-comers. All ages. All the time.
"In the fifth grade, I played with sixth graders — In the sixth grade, I played with seventh and eighth graders," Beckum remembered of an accelerated learning curve during his formative years. "The game came so fluid. I kind of knew there would be some possibilities of me taking this to the next level."
Whether on defense or offense, he created mismatches. It's something that carried him from the Redcats to the Oak Creek High School Knights to the Wisconsin Badgers to the New York Giants and Super Bowl XLVI. Now it has landed Beckum in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. His last box to check.
"Obviously being from Wisconsin and playing for Wisconsin was huge for me," said Beckum, 35, the fifth-leading receiver in school history. "The fan base, the program and what Coach (Barry) Alvarez did was unbelievable. Growing up watching that and having the ability to be a part of that was huge.
"After I got done at Wisconsin, I knew I had made the best decision of my life. I ended up going on to win a Super Bowl with the Giants – my dream was to always play in the NFL – and I just felt there was one more thing I needed to do. And that was being inducted into the (UW) Hall of Fame.
"I kind of waited for it to happen – hoping it would happen. It's just such an honor and privilege.
"Being a part of history with the University means the world to me."
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Gallery: (7-8-2022) UW Athletic Hall of Fame: Travis Beckum
Like his post-NFL gig as an open-format DJ – he wore 47 with the Giants and adopted the "DJFour7" handle – Beckum was receptive to playing a mix (of positions) as a UW freshman. Blending his skills on both sides of the ball, he got trials at outside linebacker, defensive end and tight end.
"I just knew there were a lot of options on where he could go," Alvarez reasoned.
In what was Alvarez' 16th and final recruiting class as a head coach, Beckum was one of the prize catches along with Elijah Hodge. Both were 4-star prospects (the highest in the class). As an Oak Creek senior, Beckum dominated with 108 tackles, 38 TFL, 16 sacks, 7 interceptions and 8 forced fumbles.
"When you go from being a high school All-American and a top recruit having all these expectations put upon you," Beckum said, "you go in there and think you're the big man on campus and it doesn't always work like that. You've got to prove yourself and show them you're worthy of playing."
The Badger linebacker room was loaded with promising freshman in 2005. Joining Beckum and Hodge were Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy, a Milwaukee Vincent product. O'Brien Schofield was also in that class. Schofield, Levy and Casillas went on to be starting linebackers in the NFL.
"Those guys were all awesome players," said Beckum, reflecting on how they pushed each other. "Just look at my body (then a lean 6-4, 225-pounds) compared to theirs and the style of play and downhill momentum that they always brought. I thought we had a chance to be 'Linebacker U.'"
Beckum opened his frosh season as a backup strongside linebacker. By his own admission, he struggled. Prior to the Big Ten opener, he was moved to the D-line line to shore up a unit that had been decimated by injuries. The week before, defensive end Jamal Cooper tore his ACL at North Carolina.
Expressing no qualms about the switch, Beckum just wanted to get on the field. So much so that during bowl practices in December, he served as the tight end on the scout team while still working out with a defensive line that had lost another starter, Matt Shaughnessy, to a knee injury a month earlier.
(Historical context: the D-line grew so thin from the flurry of injuries that All-Big Ten offensive tackle Joe Thomas agreed to help fill the void in the defensive trenches against Auburn. As it turned out, Thomas injured his knee during the game, a 24-10 win in the Capital One Bowl).
Meanwhile, Beckum felt more and more confident at tight end – simulating the Tigers' offense – he approached UW defensive coordinator Bret Bielema and proposed, "What do you think of me actually playing this position next year? He kind of laughed. And I said, 'I'm pretty serious about this."'
So was Bielema who took over the head coaching reins from Alvarez and granted Beckum his wish the following spring. Beckum competed for playing time at tight end with Andy Crooks, also a converted linebacker; and Sean Lewis, a converted quarterback (now the head coach at Kent State).
Beckum's versatility was clearly on display. Just as it was at Oak Creek where he saw action at defensive end, inside linebacker, cornerback, tight end and wide receiver. He was also the team punter. Legend has it that he could have more than held his own at quarterback because of his arm strength.
"First of all, he had exceptional athletic ability and speed to go along with good ball skills," Alvarez recalled. "If you're playing on defense, like he had been, you have a natural toughness. You're not afraid to mix it up a little bit and block, which you have to do in our offense. It was a good fit."
That spring, the Badgers were seeking to replace the tandem of Owens Daniels and Jason Pociask. From the first practice, Beckum looked comfortable with the assignment. While he had much to learn about blocking, Bob Bostad, who was taking over as the tight ends coach, raved about his hands.
Before even catching a pass in a game, Beckum boasted back then, "I trust my hands a lot."
Take him at his word. Beckum led the UW in receiving with 61 catches for 903 yards in 2006. He had 23 more receptions than anybody else on the offense, including wide receivers Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan. In an early season loss to Michigan, Beckum stood out by catching five passes for 53 yards.
"I didn't have many catches up until then," said Beckum who had six receptions for 85 yards in three non-conference games. "On the last drive, John Stocco connected on some passes to me on the sidelines. That's where he built trust in me. The Michigan game was the turning point of my career."
Beckum developed a nice chemistry with Stocco. A year later, Beckum and quarterback Tyler Donovan found a comfort zone together. Beckum had 75 catches, tying him then with wide receiver Lee Evans for the most receptions in a single season at Wisconsin. Jared Abbrederis (78 in '13) and Alex Erickson (77 in '15) would later raise that bar.
Only one tight end in college football had more receptions than Beckum that season. Missouri's Martin Rucker caught 84 passes. Beckum and Rucker were finalists for the Mackey Award which was won by USC's Fred Davis who had 62 catches. Beckum had the most receiving yards (982) of the trio.
"Special players love the big stage," Paul Chryst once said of Beckum. "They love the big games. They love the competition. Travis can get bored in practice. But if we're going against the No. 1 defense, he's really into it. Anytime you're competing for something he wants to be a part of it."
Beckum went over 100 receiving yards four times during the 2007 season. He had 11 catches for 160 yards against Illinois, 10 for 132 against Michigan State, 9 for 140 against Ohio State and 6 for 106 against Michigan. He was big in big games. Said Bielema, "He's a guy that thrives in that environment."
Moreover, the Badgers were 9-1 when Beckum scored a touchdown during his career.
"I always wanted the ball … I always wanted to win … I always wanted to be the best at what I did," Beckum said. "I always looked up to guys like Kellen Winslow and Jeremy Shockey and Tony Gonzalez. I looked up to those guys, but I didn't want to be like them. I wanted to be myself."
Chryst, then the UW offensive coordinator, was tight-end-friendly, Beckum-friendly. He, after all, once coached tight ends with the San Diego Chargers. There were times when Beckum would get on the phone during games with Chryst and deliver a straightforward message, "I'm open."
From his play-calling perch in the press box, Chryst encouraged such communication.
"I always wanted the ball – coach Chryst can elaborate on that," said Beckum, chuckling. "I wanted to bring something new to the table. Coach Chryst did a heckuva job of creating mismatches. Everything I did well, he took advantage of, and it made for a nightmare for the defense.
"When I had the ball in my hands, I wanted to make sure I got a first down every time.
"It was just my will to win. I never wanted to make it easy for the defense.
Beckum didn't have an easy decision that off-season. Should he return for his senior year of eligibility with the Badgers? Or should he enter the NFL draft? Before Wisconsin faced Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, he announced that he was coming back. "I'm enjoying being a Badger," he said.
It didn't turn out like anyone, especially Beckum, thought it would. He missed all of the spring while rehabbing from shoulder surgery. During training camp, he had issues with his hamstring. He missed the first two games of the 2008 season. When healthy, he missed Stocco and Donovan.
Things eventually went from bad to worse. As in worse-case scenario.
In a late October game against Illinois, the Badgers snapped a four-game losing streak at Camp Randall Stadium. But it was a pyrrhic victory. Tailback John Clay got tackled and rolled up on Beckum who was blocking downfield. He was helped to the sidelines – bearing no weight on his left leg.
That night, Beckum had surgery on a fractured fibula. End of season. End of UW career.
"Could things have been different? I don't know," said Beckum, pondering his playing fate. As a senior, he appeared in only six games and had 23 receptions, still the third-most on the team. He finished with 159 career catches, 43 shy of the school record held by Abbrederis and Brandon Williams.
"I loved my days at Wisconsin. I can't sit here and think about the what ifs …" he insisted.
If things were different, maybe he wouldn't have been drafted by the Giants in the third round.
"And I wouldn't have ended up winning a Super Bowl," he said, completing that thought.
That didn't end well either. Beckum tore his ACL in the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.
"I remember running a route, getting pushed, trying to avoid the linebacker and landing on my leg and it just gave out," he said. "As soon as it happened, I knew what it was. I remember falling and looking up and thinking, 'Did this just really happen in the Super Bowl?' But we got the win out of it."
The Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
"I'm just glad I had the privilege to play in a Super Bowl and become a Super Bowl champion," said Beckum whose NFL career was limited to three seasons in New York and 26 catches for 264 yards in 44 games. "It was the toll of all my injuries but that was the one (knee) that had the biggest impact."
Randomly, he will wear his Super Bowl ring though his finger tends to swell up because of its size. Mostly he will bring it out for corporate events. Since November, Beckum has been a business account executive for AT&T. He has stayed physically active through golf, volleyball and bowling.
"Two years ago, I started bowling in a Thursday night league," he explained. "I was the youngest person by about 30 years. But it was awesome … I was pretty decent, and it was super addicting. Three months later, I had six bowling balls, and different shoes and bags. If I'm going in, I'm going all in."
It's how he competed in football. By going all in. And now he's going into the UW Hall of Fame.
"It means a lot more to me than people know," Beckum said.
