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Former Buc Becht Speaks At Springstead

Staff photo by DAVE CASEY

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and current St. Louis Rams tight end Anthony Becht of Lutz spoke Wednesday to football players at Springstead High School in Spring Hill.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: July 25, 2008

A group of 31 Springstead High football players sat in a classroom Wednesday, intently listening to the speaker at the front of the room.

No, this was no teacher, or even one of their coaches. This was a legitimate professional football player in the flesh and blood, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and now St. Louis Ram tight end Anthony Becht.

"I want to talk about opportunities," said Becht as he began his chat. "Opportunities, everyone in this room is going to have them."

Friend of Lee

This visit was arranged by Springstead assistant coach Mark Lee, who became a close friend of Becht while serving as a graduate assistant at West Virginia University while Becht played for the Mountaineers.

The two still work out together, the former quarterback Lee throwing passes to Becht, who continues to reside in Lutz.

"It's a little bit better coming from somebody else, not a coach," Lee said. "They (the players) know you play on Sunday. They hold it a little more than what we say at times.

"A lot of high school kids won't be able to have that. I think it's something they'll always remember. And he's always been good with that. He's always doing what he can for kids. He knows he has a lot of influence just being a professional athlete."

The 30-year-old Becht, set to leave for Rams training camp on Thursday, worked out at Springstead Wednesday morning prior to speaking.

He signed with the Rams as a free agent this offseason, following three seasons with the Bucs. Prior to that, he spent five seasons with the New York Jets, who drafted him with the 27th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.

He spent roughly 20 minutes speaking to the Springstead players, detailing a high school career in which he essentially didn't play as a freshman or sophomore and only an injury to the starting tight end during his junior season allowed him to get on the field.

His story continued with his struggles to find a scholarship to play college football before basically lucking into one when another tight end that West Virginia recruited pulled out.

"It was a disappointing stage in my life," Becht told the players. "But I didn't let it bring me down.

"It's been a long road for me, a lot of ups and downs. I wasn't the best player on my team. I was not the best newspaper guy, not a lot of acclaim."

Becht also noted that he "took care of business in school" by maintaining his grades through high school and college, assuring he would have a future beyond football.

"It was great because he hit on some real good, key points," Springstead Head Coach Bill Vonada said. "He stressed a lot of the things we talk about. It comes down to taking advantage of things and dealing with adversity. He was real, too, an authentic guy."

"It's already motivated me to push myself and work harder," Springstead quarterback James Mahla said. "To talk to him, shake his hand, it was real neat."

Becht estimated that he had 10-15 speaking engagements per year in addition to youth camps he runs in Philadelphia (he was born in nearby Media, Penn.) and West Virginia.

"I think it's important," Becht said. "I think these kids learn a lot from teachers, coaches, parents, but I think their attention level is not as great. When you've got an NFL guy it heightens their awareness."

BY THE NUMBERS: ANTHONY BECHT
YEAR TEAM REP YDS YPC TD LG
2000 NY Jets 16 144 09.0 02 30
2001 NY Jets 36 321 08.9 05 24
2002 NY Jets 28 243 08.7 05 21
2003 NY Jets 40 356 08.9 04 29
2004 NY Jets 13 100 07.7 01 19
2005 Tampa Bay 16 112 07.0 00 17
2006 Tampa Bay 18 115 06.4 01 13
2007 Tampa Bay 05 020 04.0 02 09
TOTALS 172 1411 08.2 20 30

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at (352) 544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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