BOCA RATON, Fla. — As temperatures hovered in the 20s back in northwest Ohio on Saturday, the Toledo football team spent some time on the beach in South Florida ahead of the Boca Raton Bowl.
The MAC champion Rockets held their first practice at Boca Raton High School before heading out to enjoy the sun.
“Obviously, there will be some mistakes there we’ll have to clean up and some T’s we got to cross and I’s we got to dot for a game plan,” said Candle. “Get in there tonight, watch the tape, get together, get a good walkthrough tomorrow and then fine tune things on Monday.”
BEALE TAKES THE HARD ROAD WITH ROCKETS
As a senior at Springfield High School, Adam Beale didn’t have college coaches beating down his door to offer him a scholarship. Looking back, more should have taken a second look.
Beale put up great numbers as a wide receiver in high school. As a senior he had over 1,100 yards receiving and was named third team All-Ohio.
Still, as a walk-on now in his fifth year at Toledo, he’s had to earn his way every single day with the Toledo Rockets.
“It was a difficult journey, it was stressful at times,” said Beale. “I played my role throughout my first few years here. I think I’ve developed pretty well and been able to make my mark and contribute to this team.”
“I think any guy that comes into your program as a walk-on and continues to prove his worth and show you his value that he has,” said Toledo head coach Jason Candle. “We’ve had multiple guys do that. We talk about Sam Womack who was a draft pick last year, Devin Maddox has been a multi-year starter for us, and Reggie Gilliam is the starting fullback for the Buffalo Bills. Got guys like Adam Beale and a couple others that have cracked the lineup this year. I think it’s a testament to his hard work, his dedication. Tremendous student, tremendous young man and a guy that works really hard at football.”
This year, Beale has seen his most significant playing time with the Rockets. He’s been the teams' primary punt returner and has made a huge impact on special teams.
“It’s been really cool, especially being a local guy and being able to play for my hometown team,” said Beale. “I grew up watching Toledo football so it’s really been a big opportunity to get out there and contribute to the team a lot more this year.”
Beale is still not on scholarship, but his contributions to this team make him the latest in a long line of walk-on players to have success in the midnight blue and gold.