J.P. Bekasiak to work out for the Jets ~ ~ ~

Jets | Bekasiak will work out with team
Wed, 2 May 2007 20:05:43 -0700

Dan Ralph, of the Canadian Press, reports Toledo undrafted free-agent J.P. Bekasiak will attend free-agent workouts with the New York Jets.

> http://utrockets.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/bekasiak_jp00.html

 

J.P. Bekasiak Taken in First Round of CFL Draft by Hamilton Ti-Cats
Rocket defensive lineman was fourth overall pick among Canadians in CFL Draft

May 2, 2007

Toledo, OH - Defensive lineman J.P. Bekasiak (Windsor, ONT-St. Anne H.S.) was selected in the first round of the CFL Canadian Draft by the Hamilton Ti-Cats. Bekasiak was the fourth overall pick of today's draft, which includes only native Canadians. Hamilton also had the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, taking wide receiver Chris Bauman of the University of Regina.

Bekasiak, a 6-6, 296-pound defensive tackle, played four seasons for the Rockets, racking up 64 tackles, including 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He started 22 games in his career, including all 12 in the 2005 season when Toledo went 9-3 and won the GMAC Bowl."I'm excited to be in Hamilton. It's a great opportunity for me," said Bekasiak, a marketing major who will graduate from UT this month. "I would play anywhere but Hamilton is close to home and I know some of the coaches there and I'm comfortable with the situation there."Bekasiak said he still has tryouts with a couple of NFL teams and has not ruled out signing a free agent contract with an NFL team.

On Sunday, one of Bekasiak's Rocket teammates, linebacker Mike Alston, signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns.

> http://utrockets.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/050207aaa.html

 

Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 06:00PM
By Perry Lefko / CFL.ca

He comes from the University of Toledo and tips the scales at a solid 300 pounds on his six-foot-six frame. Yes, J.P. Bekasiak is a big man and he has a big future ahead of him.

Bekasiak?s impressive athleticism has garnered the attention of scouts on both sides of the border. There is a possibility the hulking defensive lineman may be selected in the National Football League draft or find himself signed as a free agent. If that doesn?t happen, he will likely be selected first overall in the Canadian Football League draft, May 2. Even if he is drafted by an NFL team or signed as a free agent, he is sure to be selected in the first round of the CFL draft.?I?m committed to either league,? Bekasiak said. ?There?s an obvious attraction for the NFL. It?s on a bigger stage, there?s more money involved, so I?m a little more attracted to that. But coming to the CFL I would definitely have no problem. It really wouldn?t matter what team I would go to as long as I could fit into their scheme and help out.?

Bekasiak has already had a workout with the Green Bay Packers, who fancy him as an offensive lineman, a position he?s never played but will gladly learn if it means earning a chance to play in the NFL.Bekasiak has been working out since early in the new year with a personal trainer, who has pushed him through drills Monday to Friday, occasionally twice a day, to stay in shape and improve on his speed and strength. It had all been geared toward the drills he had to demonstrate last month, both in a pro day conducted by his school for NFL scouts and closer to home at the Canadian Football League?s TransGlobe Evaluation Camp at the University of Toronto. He showed evidence of his brawn and speed at the CFL?s E-Camp, clocking the 40-yard dash in 4.96 seconds, which is considered solid for a man of his size. His time of 4.52 seconds in the 20-yard short shuttle also earned him accolades. He totaled 33 reps in the 225-pound bench press, bettering by three the top figure set last year by Adam Braidwood, the muscular defensive lineman of Washington State who was selected first overall in the 2006 CFL Draft.

?I was always strong and fast in whatever I?ve done and working with a personal trainer, he was there to push me,? Bekasiak said.Bekasiak, who is close to finishing his marketing degree, played both as an interior lineman and outside lineman at Toledo, the position predicated on the down and distance. In rush situations, he played predominantly inside, while in passing situations he was moved to the end in a three-four set. Bekasiak has no preference, feeling he is strong and tough enough to play inside, while playing on the outside gives him more of an ability to play one-on-one.

He is a product of the same program as Nick Kaczur, who was selected in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, with whom he has graduated into a starting offensive tackle. Because he was playing predominantly as an end, Bekasiak squared off only occasionally against Kaczur in practice in the two years they were teammates.The fact Bekasiak is being looked at an offensive lineman prospect could make him that much more attractive to an NFL team, similar to what happened last year to Dan Federkeil, the University of Calgary defensive lineman who was signed as a free agent by the Indianapolis Colts as an offensive lineman. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound prospect impressed the Colts enough to keep him as a practice roster player and he elevated himself to the developmental roster of the Super Bowl-winning team. Federkeil had some experience as on offensive lineman playing in some short-yardage situations with his university team, but Bekasiak has never lined up with the offence. He?s been told his toughness could work in his favour playing as a guard.

?I would take any opportunity to play at that level,? Bekasiak said. ?That would be a foot in the door. It would just be how dedicated and how hard I work, what I would bring to the team of value and hopefully someone would pick me up and keep me. During the workout (with Green Bay) some of the things were really foreign to me and I didn?t feel very good because I?ve never done stuff like that, but according to the scout my agent talked to he thinks I did a good job.?

Born on January 1, 1982 in Edmonton, Alberta, Bekasiak later moved with his family to the small southwestern town of Wingham and now he lives in Windsor. Bekasiak is somewhat of an unpolished football gem. He played only one year of high school football, basically the only sport he hadn?t tried at that point, followed by a summer of junior football and then several football combines in and around Toronto to showcase himself. Toledo was the only Division One school that offered him a scholarship. He has improved his stats in the last two years, finishing with 29 tackles last year, 2.5 tackles for a loss and a half a sack. In his junior year, he had 22 tackles, four tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Perry Lefko is the CFL?s Director of Communications

 

Article published Monday, August 28, 2006
Canadian connection: First Kaczur, now Bekasiak

Rockets nose tackle J.P. Bekasiak, left, of Windsor is 6-foot-6, 296 pounds with 4.85 speed in the 40-yard dash.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )
By DAVE HACKENBERG / BLADE SPORTS WRITER

In general, Canadian football players are often disregarded by recruiters from Division I-A colleges in the United States. The sport gets a low-key approach north of the border and U.S. coaches sometimes dismiss the quality of coaching and level of intensity brought to high school programs in Canada.

Coaches at the University of Toledo, however, don't take such a cavalier approach to recruiting Canadians.After all, a guy like Nick Kaczur can change opinions.The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Kaczur came from Brantford, Ont., and captured All-Mid-American Conference honors for four years as an offensive tackle. He started in every game during his career at UT before being selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft by the New England Patriots.

Now, another Canadian is stepping to the head of the class for the Rockets.

J.P. Bekasiak, the starting nose tackle from Windsor, combines size (6-6, 296 pounds) with 4.85-second speed in the 40-yard dash."We want to create a wow factor," said Mark Rhea, a four-year starter at defensive end (1988-91) for UT who has returned to his alma mater this season to coach the defensive line."Our goal as a line is for [opposing] coaches to turn on our video and say 'Wow!' "It's hard to imagine any Rocket defensive lineman will get more "wows" than Bekasiak.He has played in 27 games during his career and was the starter last season at end, but has shifted into an even higher gear since being moved to nose tackle, where his height could make him dominant for UT's defense.

"J.P. has improved so much," Rhea said. "His development as a player has been impressive. Mentally, he's like a sponge. He just soaks up everything."

Bekasiak may not have been the instant sensation Kaczur was, but his senior season, which begins Thursday at Iowa State, should prove to have been well worth the wait."At first, I was blown away by how intense college football is here," Bekasiak said. "At home, it's sort of, 'Let's go have fun.' Here, it's let's go win. The game's faster and the coaching is unreal. That has really helped me get better."Bekasiak didn't attract much attention at St. Anne High School, so he attended the University of Windsor part-time in 2002 and played for the AKO Fratmen in the Canadian Junior Football League, where UT's coaches were impressed with his quickness.

"That's a big key for our line because our linebackers are so fast," Bekasiak said. "The linemen have to move quick from one gap to another to keep blockers off the linebackers and let them get to the ball. It's how our defense works."Bekasiak will be flanked by Bernard Faithful at end and Sean Williamson at tackle.Three other experienced players - end Seth Thitoff, who has been slowed by an ankle injury, nose tackle Tyree Pollard, and tackle Patrick Clark - are currently in back-up roles along with true freshman Doug Westbrook at end."We're going to play a lot of guys up front," Rhea said. "The idea is to go as hard as you can for a few plays and then get a blow. This is a great group of kids who are feeding off each other and getting better every day."

Bekasiak said Westbrook brings "speed like we've never seen on the defensive line. Seth has been banged up, but Bernard has really stepped up. Sean is the most dependable guy we have. I really look up to him for his mental toughness. Tyree and I push each other every day."I think we have the total D-line and our defense isn't about to take any steps backward. It's a very committed group and, if anything, I think we'll be better."

It's a bold prediction for a re-built unit that led the MAC in total defense and scoring defense a year ago.

Contact Dave Hackenberg at: dhack@theblade.com or 419-724-6398.