 Justin Beaver Draft Blog Growing up in a small town of Palmyra, located in the southern part of Wisconsin, not having the typical mother/father lifestyle, being raised mostly by my grandparents, losing my father at the early age of 17 years old, and on top of it all trying to chase a dream of playing in the NFL at 5'9" and 195 pounds very little people have ever thought I would be where I am today. I'm here after being knocked down so many times to explain why those hurdles have made me who I am today, as well as explain how the last few years I have been out to show those people who doubt me and people like me that there is more to football than being the ideal size. There are immeasurable factors like "heart" and "determination" that go further than one can imagine. Hi, my name is Justin Beaver from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where I've given everything to try and be the best person and football player I can possibly be. Like I said before I've faced many obstacles in my life and have tried extremely hard to use them as motivation and strength to drive me toward my dream of playing football in the NFL. I guess you can say I've had to take the roundabout way of trying to reach my goal coming from a DIII program. I first decided to go to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater because a true friend of mine headed there the year before I graduated. I knew with the support he had given me in the hard times of my life, I wasn't ready to give up playing aside him yet. Going to Whitewater has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. We have been to three, yes THREE national titles and won my senior year making this years' senior class apart of school history with a winning record of 42-3 over the last 3 years. Personally, I have tried to leave my legacy at this great university and feel I've done just that. I've rushed for over 2,000 yards twice in my career where I hold the number one and two spot for yards in a season for Division III, I've carried the ball over 1100 times, been in the end zone 44 times, and accumulated 6,584 yards in my career which is 2nd in Division III football and 8th in all divisions combined. Like I said before it may be the roundabout way but people bet against me to be successful at Whitewater and it's only pushed me to prove them wrong. So many people ask "after being named the 'best division III football player' in the nation, and winning the schools first football national title ever why won't I hang up the cleats after accomplishing so much?" It's simple really, I have never lost sight of conquering any dream from the smallest to the largest and I have the largest right in front of me. A couple days after winning the National Title it was time to get back to work. Everyone else was still celebrating but I knew what needed to be done to get ready for one of the biggest days of my life which was the Madison Pro Day and I only had about 2 ½ months to prepare. Five years of hard work at Whitewater, so much sweat and tears, hours of working out, pain that can't be measured all to have one chance in front of scouts. It seems like so much effort for so little, but to me it was for so much more and was an opportunity and one chance, that's all I have ever asked for. I prepared six to seven days a week with trainers who have trained professional athletes in wide variety of sport at a facility called NX LEVEL located in Pewaukee, Wisconsin which is owned by a retired NFL pro bowler named Joe Panos. The workout facility was about an hour away from my home in Whitewater so I slept in a hallway where some of my friends lived to save on time and money. Coming from a non scholarship program where we have to pay for everything from our cleats to our shorts after five years even the smallest amount of money saved is a dollar earned. I worked out vigorously for those 2 ½ months and when it was time to get my chance I did just that. In front of about 15 scouts I put up numbers such as a 4.44 forty, 6.72 L-Drill, 3.96 3 cone drill, and benched 225 a staggering 24 times. Many people still doubt me because I'm from a small school but compare those numbers to backs at any level. If what I have overcome in my life and the success that I have had while overcoming obstacles doesn't prove that I have the "heart" the "determination" and the "work ethic" to make a NFL team then I say thank you for pushing me, and watch me prove you wrong. The ending of this blog may sound like I have a chip on my shoulder and I won't deny it, but that's along with living my life to honor my father has pushed me for so long. I'm very thankful for the opportunity that I have to work hard as well as the support that I've had to overcome the obstacles I have overcame.
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