Athlete of the Week: Caden Beck

Not too many coaches were knocking on his door to play college football.

Caden Beck, the Athlete of the Week, grew up playing defensive back in Patriots country at just 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds. He also punted and kicked field goals. He had just one field goal during his time at Powdersville High School, a 37-yarder that he’ll always remember.

However, there wasn’t too much game film for him to send out to college scouts and coaches. Beck had played football for PHS during the COVID era. Games were canceled. Recruiting trips in the summertime were canceled. “All of that was kind of up in the air,” Beck said.

But to the credit of Beck, in pursuit of playing college football, he continued to prove people wrong as a walk-on at the Virginia Military Institute.

He red-shirted his freshman year of football for the VMI Keydets. He was second string his sophomore year of college as a kicker. Then as a junior, Beck started and hit a 51-yard field goal to break a 7-7 tie against The Citadel, helping give the Keydets a 10-7 victory. His senior year of college featured him hitting a 54-yard field goal, too.

“It was a dream come true for me,” Beck said. “Getting to play Division 1 (football) was a big deal in my opinion. Just being able to live out that dream was awesome.”

Beck said – on the college level – the most fans he ever played in front of was 70,000 to 80,000 fans against North Carolina State. He said he credits “a lot of work in the weight room” to his success, the “mechanics” and trying to stay healthy. Beck put on 40 pounds in college from lifting weights and played at 180 pounds his final two years.

Beck tore his quad (the strong tendon that inserts on the top of the patella – the knee cap) his junior year of college and he still played through it. Then, he tore his legrum in his hip his senior season and played through that.

Added Beck, about what it takes to play at the college level, “Just work. It’s all about work ethic. Nothing else really takes you where you want to be unless you want to work for it. Being flexible helps too. Putting on weight is what helped me the most, a lot of time in the weight room.”

You can bet that Beck will be at the Furman University football game in Greenville when they host VMI at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15. His old college roommates are still on the VMI Keydets football team this season and he still stays in contact with them.

Caden, 22, is the son of Kathy and Nathan Beck.

The big picture of homecoming and Beck: Last Friday night, Powdersville football coach Robert Mustar took some time to describe what homecoming should really be thought of.

“Homecoming is supposed to be about people coming back home,” Mustar said. “Not about the kids in the school. We are trying to go out and put on a good show, but we also want to honor those guys who laid the foundation for the rest of them. Some years we have 40 kids come back and other years we might have 15. You can’t control any of that.”

About Beck, Mustar said, “He was a tough-nosed kid. He was a weapon out there with his leg, flipping the field. I felt very comfortable putting him out there. He was clutch for us.”

Ending thought: Beck said he injured his shoulder his sophomore year of football at Powdersville High School. He didn’t have shoulder surgery, though, until after his senior year of playing for the Patriots. Whether it was in high school or in college, Beck has always played through injuries and left it all on the field for the team. It’s that type of “inner toughness” that led him to a successful career in college as a walk-on.

“I’ve never really played a full healthy season,” added Beck.