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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000040">RUSHING ON</FONT> </H1>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Beasley Lead By Example</I></FONT></H3>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>by Goodloe Sutton, Jr.</H3>

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<TD><IMG SRC="pic/beas01.jpg" ALT="Fred Beasley" BORDER=2 WIDTH=169 HEIGHT=302 ALIGN=RIGHT>
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<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2>Beasley came to Auburn in 1994 as one of the most heralded running backs in the country.  His impact in the Auburn backfield was immediate</FONT></B></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<P><FONT SIZE=6><B>A</B></FONT>uburn fullback Fred Beasley's ability to 'hold on' to the football may have been taught to him by means other than the gridiron.

<P>When Beasley was in junior high school, his older brother Jonathan had a knack for working on motorcycles. One afternoon, Jonathan finished a motorcycle he had constructed from scratch and wanted Fred to be the guinea pig and take the first test drive. Fred did not realize that his big brother forgot to install brakes that worked until he was speeding away down the street.

<P>"I didn't know any better," Beasley said. "It didn't have any brakes and when I got on it the gas stuck. I'm going about 60 miles an hour down the road crying and hollering. Jonathan told me to jump off but I was too scared.

<P>"When I got to the end of the road I drove off into a ditch and cut through some people's yards tearing up bushes and clothes lines. It finally stopped when I ran off a cliff into a pond. The bike was still running in the water until it finally started whining and dying out. I was torn up with scratches and cuts everywhere. I was still holding on to the motorcycle," Beasley smiled.

<P>Whether it be a motorcycle or a football, the do-everything running back does not let go. Beasley has not fumbled in two years.

<P>Over the past four years Frederick Jerome Beasley has become a fixture in the Auburn backfield, playing both fullback and tailback. Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Rodney Allison offered nothing but praise.

<P>"Fred's probably one of the top two or three most consistent players we've had on offense since I've been here," Allison said. "He has done everything we've asked him to. He's played whatever role we've needed him to. He's showing up for practice and every single game playing as hard as he can on every single snap."

<P>Allison sees a bright future in the NFL for Beasley.

<P>"I think he's turned into a top three round draft pick in the NFL. He's elevated his game to have a good opportunity to go pretty high in the draft. He has running skills which he showed while playing tailback. He's also shown what a good blocker he is and he's even caught some balls out of the backfield. I think he's done a great job of being a leader and supporting our team," Allison boasted.

<P>Being the eighth of nine children, Beasley sees playing in the NFL as a chance to return the blessings and support his family gave him while growing up. He particularly spoke of his mother Alma.

<P>"There were nine of us - four girls and five boys. I want to do good for myself, but also for my family. My mom has been a big influence in my life. My family took care of me and I want to take care of them. They were behind me all the time. I want to return the favor. The only way I can do that is to make it to another level."

<P>Toughness, working hard and winning are traits Beasley learned from his high school coach Spence McCracken at Robert E. Lee High School. At Lee, Beasley led the Generals to back-to-back state championships in 1991 and 1992, while rushing for 3,894 yards and 62 touchdowns in three seasons.

<P>"I think that's why I've got such a strong work ethic. He taught us to have the desire to win at Robert E. Lee. He had a desire for the players to be better every day so during the summer we were there every day running and lifting weights. Most of the team did it on our own without him making us go. That's why we were so successful in high school because he gave us the motivation to win.

<P>McCracken, who was a candidate for the Auburn head coaching job when Pat Dye resigned in 1992, is currently having a successful stint at nearby Opelika High School.

<P>"We are very close and keep in touch. We're real good friends," Beasley said of McCracken. "He calls sometimes and tells me how his team is doing and what they plan to do. We've been out to eat a few times. I've been to a couple of practices and he comes over here to see me sometimes."

<P>The fullback also credited his toughness to being one of the younger children in the Beasley family who was picked on by his older brothers. When asked if they still picked on him Beasley smiled. "Not now they don't. I think my brothers are the ones that made me rough and tough though."

<P>Although his hometown is listed as Montgomery in the media guide, Beasley's family actually lives in Waugh, a rural community five minutes east of the Montgomery city limits. Growing up in a quiet community had a lot to do with the heralded USA Today/Parade High School All-American choosing Auburn over Tennessee and Alabama.

<P>"I went to Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn. Those were my three final choices. I loved Tennessee but it was too far away from home. I loved everything about it, but I wanted to stay close to home," Beasley said.

<P>"I didn't feel right in Tuscaloosa - it was too much of a city. Auburn was in the country and I felt right at home. I knew about a week before signing day I wanted to come here. I didn't tell anyone but my family. I told Coach Rodney Garner one night and then 30 minutes later it was on the news."

<P>Beasley's accomplishments at the prep level naturally induced him to have aspirations of becoming the next number 34 on the Plains.

<P>"My goal was to be one of the top rushers at Auburn. Before I first got here I wanted to be something like Bo. I wanted to be one of the top rushers in school history or be a Heisman candidate or something like that, but things changed along the way."

<P>During Beasley's first Fall on the Plains, he quietly waited in the wings behind former tailback Stephen Davis who is now in the backfield for the Washington Redskins.

<P>"When I got here Stephen Davis was the tailback so I backed him up. During my sophomore year I was moved to fullback to utilize my skills with Stephen's skills and that was to hopefully make it a tough task for the defense to stop us. It was rough at times, but then I was moved back to tailback my junior year."

<P>Beasley's junior year was a season that he would like to forget.
"My worst time here at Auburn was last season. Things didn't go well that year. The offense wasn't clicking and we weren't able to run the ball as well so we had to scramble around to get the offense moving.

<P>"It wasn't bad just for me, but for the whole team. We weren't in sync at all. We had no chemistry. Before the games we didn't know who was playing where, and I think it was just a season a team didn't want to be in. Going through the transition from tailback to fullback again in the middle of the season didn't bother me either. I knew things weren't going well anyway so it didn't bother me as much.

<P>Something that did bother Beasley was the false rumors surfacing in the media last year concerning him wanting to transfer because of the mid-season position change.

<P>"I think things were blown out of proportion," Beasley said. "I kept hearing it over and over every week. I was wondering where people were getting this stuff from. Leaving never crossed my mind," Beasley said.

<P>Today, Beasley has found his niche in the Auburn backfield playing fullback the majority of the time, and playing tailback in short-yardage situations.
"I'm a physical and very aggressive back. That's my mentality - I fit into the fullback role at this university. At first I wasn't happy with the move, but it's where my future lies. I love it now. I have no regrets about it."

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	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000040">RUSHING ON</FONT> </H1>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Beasley Lead By Example</I></FONT></H3>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>by Goodloe Sutton, Jr.</H3>

	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH="169" >
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="pic/beas01.jpg" ALT="Fred Beasley" BORDER=2 WIDTH=169 HEIGHT=302 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>

	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2>Beasley came to Auburn in 1994 as one of the most heralded running backs in the country. His impact in the Auburn backfield was immediate</FONT></B></TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>

	<P><FONT SIZE=6><B>A</B></FONT>uburn fullback Fred Beasley's ability to 'hold on' to the football may have been taught to him by means other than the gridiron.

	<P>When Beasley was in junior high school, his older brother Jonathan had a knack for working on motorcycles. One afternoon, Jonathan finished a motorcycle he had constructed from scratch and wanted Fred to be the guinea pig and take the first test drive. Fred did not realize that his big brother forgot to install brakes that worked until he was speeding away down the street.

	<P>"I didn't know any better," Beasley said. "It didn't have any brakes and when I got on it the gas stuck. I'm going about 60 miles an hour down the road crying and hollering. Jonathan told me to jump off but I was too scared.

	<P>"When I got to the end of the road I drove off into a ditch and cut through some people's yards tearing up bushes and clothes lines. It finally stopped when I ran off a cliff into a pond. The bike was still running in the water until it finally started whining and dying out. I was torn up with scratches and cuts everywhere. I was still holding on to the motorcycle," Beasley smiled.

	<P>Whether it be a motorcycle or a football, the do-everything running back does not let go. Beasley has not fumbled in two years.

	<P>Over the past four years Frederick Jerome Beasley has become a fixture in the Auburn backfield, playing both fullback and tailback. Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Rodney Allison offered nothing but praise.

	<P>"Fred's probably one of the top two or three most consistent players we've had on offense since I've been here," Allison said. "He has done everything we've asked him to. He's played whatever role we've needed him to. He's showing up for practice and every single game playing as hard as he can on every single snap."

	<P>Allison sees a bright future in the NFL for Beasley.

	<P>"I think he's turned into a top three round draft pick in the NFL. He's elevated his game to have a good opportunity to go pretty high in the draft. He has running skills which he showed while playing tailback. He's also shown what a good blocker he is and he's even caught some balls out of the backfield. I think he's done a great job of being a leader and supporting our team," Allison boasted.

	<P>Being the eighth of nine children, Beasley sees playing in the NFL as a chance to return the blessings and support his family gave him while growing up. He particularly spoke of his mother Alma.

	<P>"There were nine of us - four girls and five boys. I want to do good for myself, but also for my family. My mom has been a big influence in my life. My family took care of me and I want to take care of them. They were behind me all the time. I want to return the favor. The only way I can do that is to make it to another level."

	<P>Toughness, working hard and winning are traits Beasley learned from his high school coach Spence McCracken at Robert E. Lee High School. At Lee, Beasley led the Generals to back-to-back state championships in 1991 and 1992, while rushing for 3,894 yards and 62 touchdowns in three seasons.

	<P>"I think that's why I've got such a strong work ethic. He taught us to have the desire to win at Robert E. Lee. He had a desire for the players to be better every day so during the summer we were there every day running and lifting weights. Most of the team did it on our own without him making us go. That's why we were so successful in high school because he gave us the motivation to win.

	<P>McCracken, who was a candidate for the Auburn head coaching job when Pat Dye resigned in 1992, is currently having a successful stint at nearby Opelika High School.

	<P>"We are very close and keep in touch. We're real good friends," Beasley said of McCracken. "He calls sometimes and tells me how his team is doing and what they plan to do. We've been out to eat a few times. I've been to a couple of practices and he comes over here to see me sometimes."

	<P>The fullback also credited his toughness to being one of the younger children in the Beasley family who was picked on by his older brothers. When asked if they still picked on him Beasley smiled. "Not now they don't. I think my brothers are the ones that made me rough and tough though."

	<P>Although his hometown is listed as Montgomery in the media guide, Beasley's family actually lives in Waugh, a rural community five minutes east of the Montgomery city limits. Growing up in a quiet community had a lot to do with the heralded USA Today/Parade High School All-American choosing Auburn over Tennessee and Alabama.

	<P>"I went to Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn. Those were my three final choices. I loved Tennessee but it was too far away from home. I loved everything about it, but I wanted to stay close to home," Beasley said.

	<P>"I didn't feel right in Tuscaloosa - it was too much of a city. Auburn was in the country and I felt right at home. I knew about a week before signing day I wanted to come here. I didn't tell anyone but my family. I told Coach Rodney Garner one night and then 30 minutes later it was on the news."

	<P>Beasley's accomplishments at the prep level naturally induced him to have aspirations of becoming the next number 34 on the Plains.

	<P>"My goal was to be one of the top rushers at Auburn. Before I first got here I wanted to be something like Bo. I wanted to be one of the top rushers in school history or be a Heisman candidate or something like that, but things changed along the way."

	<P>During Beasley's first Fall on the Plains, he quietly waited in the wings behind former tailback Stephen Davis who is now in the backfield for the Washington Redskins.

	<P>"When I got here Stephen Davis was the tailback so I backed him up. During my sophomore year I was moved to fullback to utilize my skills with Stephen's skills and that was to hopefully make it a tough task for the defense to stop us. It was rough at times, but then I was moved back to tailback my junior year."

	<P>Beasley's junior year was a season that he would like to forget.
	"My worst time here at Auburn was last season. Things didn't go well that year. The offense wasn't clicking and we weren't able to run the ball as well so we had to scramble around to get the offense moving.

	<P>"It wasn't bad just for me, but for the whole team. We weren't in sync at all. We had no chemistry. Before the games we didn't know who was playing where, and I think it was just a season a team didn't want to be in. Going through the transition from tailback to fullback again in the middle of the season didn't bother me either. I knew things weren't going well anyway so it didn't bother me as much.

	<P>Something that did bother Beasley was the false rumors surfacing in the media last year concerning him wanting to transfer because of the mid-season position change.

	<P>"I think things were blown out of proportion," Beasley said. "I kept hearing it over and over every week. I was wondering where people were getting this stuff from. Leaving never crossed my mind," Beasley said.

	<P>Today, Beasley has found his niche in the Auburn backfield playing fullback the majority of the time, and playing tailback in short-yardage situations.
	"I'm a physical and very aggressive back. That's my mentality - I fit into the fullback role at this university. At first I wasn't happy with the move, but it's where my future lies. I love it now. I have no regrets about it."

	<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="pic/beas02.jpg" ALT="Fred Beasley" WIDTH=360 HEIGHT=292>
	</P></CENTER>

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