Transfer Tayvion Beasley eager for new challenge with CU Buffs – The Denver Post

Coming out of high school a year ago, Tayvion Beasley had plenty of opportunities to play football at the Power 5 level.

He was, after all, a three-star recruit from one of the top high school programs in the country, St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif.

A 5-foot-11, 170-pound cornerback, Beasley instead chose to play at Jackson State, an FCS school coached by arguably the best cornerback in NFL history, Deion Sanders.

So, when Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” left JSU to take the head coaching job at Colorado last month, Beasley knew he wanted to make a move, too. Beasley announced his decision to transfer to CU on Saturday.

Related Articles

• 
  Colorado football: Freshmen QB recruits ready to compete for Buffs

• 
  Deion Sanders must wear Nike while coaching CU Buffs, per approved contract

• 
  CU Buffs kicker Cole Becker to transfer

• 
  Pac-12 bowl recap: L.A. teams flop as Pacific NW schools lead the way

• 
  Coaching foundation set years ago for CU Buffs’ Deion Sanders

“My decision was, in my opinion, to play for the best coach in college football (Sanders) because he can teach you things outside of football to be a better man and a better person,” Beasley told BuffZone. “And obviously he helped me improve my game on the field. He’s preparing me for the next level at life and on the field.”

Beasley, who has three years of eligibility remaining, was a backup nickelback at Jackson State this season, recording eight tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

Transferring to CU will allow Beasley to continue being developed not only by Sanders, but also Kevin Mathis, the JSU cornerbacks coach who is now coaching the Buffs’ corners.

“I have a strong relationship with the coaches,” Beasley said. “Before I committed I told coach Mathis, our corners coach, that relationship is a big part of where I wanted to go. So that’s part of the reason why I also wanted to continue to follow coach Prime to Colorado because I have a relationship with the coaches and I know their scheme and how they work. I feel like it’s better for all of us that are going to Colorado. It wouldn’t be as hard for us to adapt to the system.”

It will be a challenge, however, moving from an FCS school to the Pac-12, but it’s a challenge Beasley is eager to tackle. He had offers from, among others, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State and USC, coming out of high school.

“I feel like playing at a higher level will help me improve my game, because I feel it will be more competition and that’s how coach Prime wants us to compete,” Beasley said. “He really loves to compete.

“I also get to play against my teammates that I played with at Bosco (that are now at other Pac-12 schools) … and just to play against other people, knowing that it’s a higher level for competition, bigger guys. It’s gonna push me to get myself better, get myself bigger and faster and just ready to play.”

In addition to Sanders and Mathis, more than 10 others from the JSU staff are now in Boulder. And, Beasley is one of seven former JSU players currently committed to transfer to CU.

CU’s secondary will have a significant JSU feel to it. In addition to Beasley, cornerback Travis Hunter and safety Cam’ron Silmon-Craig, have announced transfers to CU. Sanders’ son, Shilo, a safety, is also expected to come to CU after he graduates in the spring.

JSU had the No. 1 passing defense in the FCS, allowing just 135.4 yards per game and only 4.99 yards per attempt. Only Dartmouth allowed fewer passing touchdowns than the eight given up by the Tigers.

“I feel like we can show that same thing we did at Jackson (at CU),” Beasley said. “We have a lot of people saying we wouldn’t be able to do it, but now we can show everybody that we’re capable of doing what we did at Jackson as well.”

Source: Read Full Article