Beach shelved by surgeries

Senior may return for fifth year

FILE PHOTO Redshirt senior defensive tackle Brandon Beach walks off the field after JMU's 45-10 loss to West Virginia, Sept. 25.

For most people, surgery only comes along once in a while when old age starts to creep up, or in the aftermath of boating accidents.

For Brandon Beach, surgery long has discarded its usual adjective of "elective" and become nearly a necessity during his five-year tenure playing football at JMU.

The redshirt senior defensive tackle averages about one a year.

In 2000, Beach tore the meniscus in his right knee. In 2001, he tore his left Achilles tendon and only played four games. Then, in 2002, it was his left knee — only instead of a meniscus, he tore the anterior crucial ligament.

Usually, having one ACL left is a good thing — not for Beach. In the spring of 2003, he tore that one, too.

"When that happened, the doctor said it probably wasn’t in my best interest to play anymore," Beach said.

Beach, however, still remained involved with the football team, accepting a position as a graduate assistant and on coach Mickey Matthews’ staff, but dropped off the team roster as to not take up a scholarship.

"I accepted that I wasn’t going to play anymore," Beach said.

But after the 6-foot-1-inch, 280-lb. tackle’s surgery in 2003 to repair the left ACL, something happened.

"After the last surgery in 2003, my knee got a stronger than I thought it would," Beach said. "Then I changed doctors and he thought it was strong enough to play on."

After the OK from medical personnel, Beach sought the approval of the NCAA and went about getting his eligibility back, after being taken off the roster. The NCAA acquiesced and Beach was back on the team. Practice, however, was a delicate enterprise for the Newport News native.

"I wouldn’t run and didn’t practice a whole lot," Beach said. "I had as little contact as possible and they wouldn’t leave me in for a long period of time."

And by time the 2004 season rolled around, Beach was in the starting lineup at defensive tackle and, after what looked to be the end of his football days, he became a part of the second team in JMU history to win a national title, the first being the field hockey team in 1994.

During games, it wasn’t uncommon for Beach to come out due to his knees locking up.

"After the Furman game, it began to happen once or twice a game," Beach said. "But compared to what I went through before, I was just happy to be on the field instead of being told I couldn’t play."

And not only did Beach win a national title, he also scored a touchdown — a stat that few defensive lineman can boast. In JMU’s 45-10 loss to West Virginia University Sept. 25, Beach recovered a Rasheed Marshall fumble and went 35 yards for the Dukes’ first touchdown of the day. In more traditional lineman statistics, Beach finished sixth on the team in tackles with 58 and had five sacks.

"It’s like a Cinderella story," Beach said. "After being told you were never going to see the field again, it’s just unbelievable."

What’s even more unbelievable is that a player who may be close to some sort of surgical record may end up playing one more year. Beach, who is a redshirt senior, already has played four seasons. Currently, he has applied to the NCAA for a medical redshirt that would allow him a fifth season of eligibility, as well as a chance to be a part of JMU’s year as reigning national champs.

"There are real good chances because of what happened," Beach said.

But before Beach can get back on the field, he has an off-season tradition to tend to.

"I just had surgery last Monday," Beach said. "They took out part of the meniscus and it’s doing real good."