Ep. 439 (8/25/26): Special Guest - Joshua Beekman, Former NFL Offensive Lineman and BC Hall of Famer

In this episode, Joey has the privilege and honor of being joined by Boston College football legend and former NFL offensive lineman Joshua Beekman. Beekman graduated from BC with two degrees in 2005 and 2006 and played five years of football at BC, where he was a First-Team All-American selection and a team captain as a senior in 2006, before being a fourth round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears. He played professionally for six years with three years in Chicago and then stops with the Florida Tuskers in the UFL, Indianapolis Colts and then Jacksonville Jaguars. Josh was inducted into the BC Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2022 and is currently the Director of Alumni Programs for BC Athletics.At the start of the episode, Beekman revealed where his love for the game of football began (2:15), what appealed to him about BC as a standout two-way player from Amsterdam High School in New York (5:24), and what his home visit as a recruit with former BC football head coach Tom O’Brien was like (9:25). Following that, he points out two values - accountability and leadership - which made the 2006 BC football team special, a roster that included 10 NFL players (13:19). Furthermore, Beekman talks about the team’s culture that was built around competitive excellence and provides an example of that in a Monopoly game with his former teammate Matt Ryan (17:04). He opens up about his experience playing with Matt Ryan and B.J. Raji (19:04), why he chose BC, and shouts out Luke Kuechly and Zay Flowers for flourishing at BC (20:44). Beekman explains how much of an honor it was to be the recipient of the Thomas F. Scanlan Memorial Trophy in 2006 (23:28). Joey praises Beekman for being “the best man around” (27:32). Following that, Beekman chats about the honor of earning First-Team All-American honors from the Associated Press and winning the 2006 Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the most valuable blocker in the Atlantic Coast Conference (28:59). Beekman thanks former BC football player and coach Barry Gallup for his support (30:27). To wrap up their conversation about BC, Beekman highlights his favorite moment/game from his time as a player at BC (34:19) and what Welles Crowther’s legacy and the Red Bandanna game mean to him (36:45). Then, Beekman outlines the pre-draft process and the NFL Scouting Combine (39:33) and how special it was to receive a call from the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft (41:45). Beekman shouts out Lovie Smith, his former head coach in Chicago (42:54), and breaks down what made Chicago a special place to play (43:59). After that, he reflects on his NFL debut in 2007 at Lambeau Field, where he played as an emergency defensive lineman (46:29). Furthermore, he gives listeners a look into what Chicago’s locker room was like with Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Matt Forte, Greg Olsen, Charles Tillman, and Devin Hester (49:08). During this segment, he includes a funny story about payday as a rookie and an anecdote about how the team kept one another engaged through “The Movie Game.” Beekman adds in a practice story about Peyton Manning from his time in Indianapolis (52:41). Beekman speaks about the 2008 NFL season, in which he started all 16 games for the Bears at left guard, and provides insight into some of the rookie and sophomore pranks that he faced (56:17). Joey endorses Beekman’s discipline and when points out he tallied only six penalties in 28 career games in the NFL (1:01:07). Following that, Beekman describes his experience as a coach at the collegiate level (1:04:00). Moreover, he emphasizes how gratifying it is to see players that he mentored succeed in the NFL and their post-playing careers (1:07:17). To close the episode, Beekman reveals how important education has been to him (1:10:42) and how rewarding it was to be recognized by the Boston College community as the recipient of the university’s Community Service Award in 2025 (1:14:33).