The fifth-year senior didn’t start playing football until high school. Now he’s a mainstay on Michigan’s much-improved offensive line.
ANN ARBOR — Almost a decade later, Chris Partridge can remember where and when he first laid eyes on a young Juwann Bushell-Beatty.
It was the summer of 2010 and Bushell-Beatty, a freshman at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, was on the basketball court. Partridge was the varsity football coach and noticed a 350-pound kid trying to dribble a ball with two hands down the court.
Right away, he knew Bushell-Beatty had no future in basketball.
« And I said to the basketball coach, ‘Can I please just have him?’, » Partridge, now Michigan’s safeties coach and special teams coordinator, told reporters on Wednesday. « He said, ‘Go ahead.’
« The first time he ever stepped out onto the football field was about two days later, for summer practice. »
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What followed was four years of hard work for Bushell-Beatty, spent shaping his body into the football mold and finding a love and desire for the game of football.
Partridge and Bushell-Beatty, now in his fifth and final year of football eligibility at Michigan, spoke openly this week about the ride. And it nearly ended after Bushell-Beatty’s freshman season.
« It was a struggle for him early, » said Partridge, who helped grow Paramus Catholic into the No. 1 football school in the state of New Jersey and a national power. « And when I sat him down, I’ll never forget this: I said, ‘What do you want out of your football career? Do you want to continue this? What do you want?’
« He looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘I want to get a college scholarship.' »
Both parties knew it was going to take some work, but Bushell-Beatty was up for the challenge. He stayed after practice to run on the treadmill and walk some more, Partridge said. He stayed after practice with the football team’s offensive line coach to work on his technique and learn the playbook.
By his junior year, he was starting. Then came the college offers and the pomp and circumstance that came with recruiting. He was invited to the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game.
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« I saw a guy who, through struggles, wouldn’t quit, » Partridge said. « He just kept pushing. And then I saw a determination. He had a strong desire and just started loving the game. »
Fast forward five years and a similar story has played out at Michigan. Recruited by Brady Hoke, Bushell-Beatty redshirted his freshman year and only played sparingly in Year 2, the first season under Jim Harbaugh.
He slowly worked his way into the rotation in 2016, his redshirt sophomore year, but failed to win the starting tackle job out of fall camp in 2017. But struggles along the offensive line left Michigan no choice but to play him last fall, when he started seven games at right tackle along an offensive line that was struggling majorly in pass protection.
« I think a lot of people coming from high school, in those first two years, you got a certain ego about you, » Bushell-Beatty said this week. « College football can be really humbling. You may not always get those opportunities. There are guys that are better than you. There are guys who get more opportunities. »
While Bushell-Beatty closed the 2017 season as the starting right tackle, there was no guarantee the job would be his heading into the fall. He had struggled at times and looked out of shape. Michigan’s issues up front were well known and it was made apparent nearly every spot along the line would be up for grabs.
Partridge said he approached Bushell-Beatty in the winter, looking to tread lightly (after all, Bushell-Beatty is on the opposite side of the ball from him, and he isn’t his coach), but offered up a little motivation.
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« In talking to him, I felt like he needed to cut some weight, » Partridge said. « So, I made a little wager with him that if he wasn’t to a certain weight by this date, then he has to vegan from now until the end of the season.
« He’s like, ‘No way,’ and cut his weight down. »
That began a change in mindset for the New Jersey native. It was his final year of football and he made it this far. Why go out on the bench?
Bushell-Beatty not only won the starting right tackle job out of fall camp, but has maintained the job through Michigan’s first nine games and, at times, played exceptionally well.
Harbaugh praised the 6-foot-6,318-pound New Jersey native last month, saying Bushell-Beatty played his best game in a Michigan uniform during the team’s win over Wisconsin. Then came last Saturday, after Michigan’s offensive line held the explosive Penn State pass rush to just one sack, when others took notice, too.
« I know (athletic director) Warde Manuel watches the offensive line intently, » Harbaugh said. « He thought Juwann Bushell-Beatty had his best game of the season, which is really good. Because we were just saying we thought he had his best game of the season two weeks ago.
« Good to see guys ascending. Playing good. Playing confident. »
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Confident is an adjective Bushell-Beatty uttered several times this week. Being an older, veteran player with a limited class load, he says he’s had more time of late to work on his technique and study the playbook. His considers his footwork and ability to re-adjust to pass rushers to be his strengths, and he’s used his new approach to develop more patience along the line this season.
Rashan Gary says he’s seen it in practice. Others have, too. The progress, better late than never, is real.
« I see a big jump week to week, » Partridge said. « I think he’s just consistently getting better. I think he can continue to do that if he just continues to put the work in. He’ll constantly get better into this season, and hopefully into the future. »
After nine games, Michigan (8-1,6-0 Big Ten) has experienced a massive jump from its offensive line. The group has only allowed 14 sacks this season, a far cry from a year ago when it gave up 36.
