UGA Football: Frierson Chats With Robert Beal

Robert Beal Jr. doesn’t spend that much time watching contact sports on television. Georgia’s 6-foot-4 and 255-pound outside linebacker would prefer to watch either bowling or tennis, he said during a Quick Chat this week.

A senior from Peachtree Ridge, Ga., Beal got into football, he said, because he was too physical for basketball when he was in fifth grade. It’s a transition that has worked out well for him. Beal has seven tackles, including a sack, and seven quarterback hurries through four games this season. In last Saturday’s 62-0 shutout of Vanderbilt, he had three solo stops, a 10-yard sack and two QB hurries,

During our Quick Chat, Beal talked about his start in football, not liking getting hit, his love of bowling, and much more. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: What do you remember about your start in football? We’re you really eager to play or did you kind of fall into it?

Beal: Really, I started off playing basketball up until fifth grade in elementary school. When sixth grade came around, I fouled out a bunch. I was a real physical guy so I fouled out, and my best friend’s mother said I should play football, so I played football that year. I didn’t know what I was doing but I made a lot of plays and I just fell in love with it.

Frierson: Did you play all over the field, offense and defense?

Beal: When I was on offense I played left tackle, but then I was a real physical guy so they stuck me on defense and that’s where I’ve been ever since.

Frierson: Did you ever have dreams of offensive glory?

Beal: I used to, I used to, but I’d say in eighth grade, playing for Central Dekalb, I got hit so hard when I was playing tight end that I quit offense and stayed on defense.

Frierson: Better to deliver than receive?

Beal: Definitely.

Frierson: Did you keep playing basketball all the way through high school?

Beal: No, just up to fifth grade.

Frierson: I bet your high school’s basketball coach wished you were on the team.

Beal: Every year. Every year.

Frierson: What’s something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?

Beal: Lemon pepper chicken wings. It doesn’t really matter the place as long as they’re lemon pepper. I love those things.

Frierson: How are you in the kitchen, can you cook?

Beal: I can’t really cook, I ain’t going to lie to you. I can’t really cook at all.

Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on the team? A lot of your teammates say it’s Jordan Davis but I’m wondering if you’ve got someone else in mind.

Beal: I’m going to have to go with J.D. He’s hilarious. He’s hilarious every day, in and out.

Frierson: Is he funny during games?

Beal: Yeah. If you watch him at the game you’ll see him dancing on the sideline. He’s just a really funny guy, a real animated guy.

Frierson: How valuable is that during a long season when you guys are putting in the work that you are?

Beal: Man, that’s precious. It could be a hard day and then you see J.D. laughing, smiling, cracking jokes, and it will make you realize that it isn’t that bad. If he’s out here laughing and smiling, I can do it too.

Frierson: Can you sing? With that voice of yours, I’m guessing you could do a pretty good Barry White impression.

Beal: [Laughs] I can sing a little bit. I’m more of a sports guy, though.

Frierson: What kind of sports do you like to watch on TV?

Beal: This might surprise you but I’ll watch bowling a lot of the time because I’m really good at it, and then I’ll watch tennis, watch Serena Williams and people like that.

Frierson: Have you been bowling your whole life?

Beal: It’s something me and my father have been doing for a long time. My father taught me how to bowl and we’ve been doing that ever since I was 11 or 12 years old.

Frierson: Who on the team do you go bowling with?

Beal: I’ll go with Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Trezmen Marshall and Adam Anderson. Those are the guys I know that are pretty decent.

Frierson: If you could play any other sport for Georgia, what would it be?

Beal: I’d probably do track and field, do the shot put and discus.

Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else’s dime, where would you go and who would you take with you?

Beal: I’d probably go to Brazil and I’d take my girlfriend with me. Brazil’s a place I’ve always wanted to go see.

Frierson: When did you know you were good at football? When did you know you had a future beyond just being a good player in high school?

Beal: It was probably in 10th grade. I wasn’t the guy but I was going in and making plays like right now. I was going in from time to time and I was thinking, if I could get more snaps, then I could be the man. After that, I knew I could do something serious with it.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.