Beau Sandland has always believed in his abilities. But he wondered what opportunities might come his way after a winding cross-country college football career.
The former Montana State star spent two seasons at Pierce College in Los Angeles, ascending to become the top-ranked junior college tight end in the country. He signed with the Miami Hurricanes, a program that has produced tight ends like Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow Jr., Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham.
Former MSU tight end Beau Sandland
In 2013, Sandland found himself in a position group with future NFL Draft picks Asante Cleveland and Clive Waldorf. Sandland played in all 13 games and caught a touchdown, but game reps were sparce. He made no progress on the depth chart the following year.
He elected to transfer to Montana State but was late in the process. He sat out during 2014 season. Sandland put together a first-team All-Big Sky season as a senior for the Bobcats in 2015. His 6-foot-5, 256-pound frame, his long stride and longer arms and his explosive ability drew NFL scouts to Bozeman regularly, yet Sandland still wondered what his NFL prospects might be.
Sandland received an invite to the NFLPA all-star game in Carson, California and performed well for Mike Martz’s National team in December. But he played sparingly as he split time with Pitt standout J.P. Holtz and South Carolina State stud Temarrick Hemingway. Then came the news Sandland had been waiting for. Just a few days before welcoming in the new year, Sandland had received an email invitation to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
“After the NFLPA game, I was hearing I might get invited to the combine but I’m the kind of guy who needs to see it in writing before I get too invested in it,” Sandland said from his training facility in Orlando, Florida last week. “When I got that email, I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. I was really excited. It was a huge weight off my shoulders. It was a really humbling experience to be a part of.”
On Wednesday, the six-day testing extravaganza that has become a cultural phenomenon begins at Lucas Oil Stadium. Players will be tested in a variety of athletic endeavors, including the 40-yard dash, the bench press, the broad jump, the vertical jump, the 3-cone drill and the shuttle run. Sandland is one of four players from the Big Sky Conference and one of 19 players from the Football Championship Subdivision among the 332 players invited to this year’s NFL Combine.
Former SUU defensive end James Cowser
Southern Utah claimed its first-ever Big Sky Conference championship last season. A trio of defensive standouts helped spearhead the Thunderbirds’ league-leading defense as SUU qualified for the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. James Cowser, the Big Sky Defensive MVP, along with first-team All-Big Sky selections safety Miles Killebrew and cornerback LeShaun Sims will join Sandland as the Big Sky’s representatives in Indianapolis.
“I think with a good performance, it will help me for sure,” said Cowser, who left SUU as the FCS’s all-time leader in sacks (43) and tackles for loss (80). “Some people want to know what kind of athlete I am still. This is a good opportunity to show people what I really can do.”
Of the 256 players drafted last spring, 41 did not receive NFL Combine invitations while 108 players who did attend the combine went undrafted. Former Big Sky standouts like Montana’s Colt Anderson, Shann Shillinger, and Marc Mariani were all drafted without receiving combine invites.
All four Big Sky prospects could hear their names called in April. Killebrew is the most highly touted prospect; the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder could be between a first and fourth-round draft pick. He almost certainly will not make it past the second day of action. Cowser, a 6-foot-3, 248-pounder is slated as a third to sixth-round pick who is likely to hear his name called on Day 3. Sims, a 6-foot-1, 197-pounder with speed to burn, and Sandland could play their way into being late round picks on the draft’s third and final day, something that partially hinges on their performance this week.
“To be one of those guys out of the thousands of college football players in the country is a huge honor in itself,” Sandland said. “It can really benefit me because I played two years of junior college ball, which I don’t know how much scouts really look at or care for. Then going to Miami in a very limited role and then only having one good year of film on me, I think that to be on that platform and to be in front of all those GMs and coaches in Indianapolis will be huge for me. The more exposure anyone can get, but especially a small school guy, can be huge for them.”
Former SUU safety Miles Killebrew
After a standout showing at the Senior Bowl, Killebrew is being touted as a potential first-round draft pick by NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread. Most mock drafts have him as one of the top three or four safeties in the draft, meaning he should be off the board by the third round.
The analysis goes on to compare him to Deone Bucannon, the standout middle linebacker/safety hybrid for the Arizona Cardinals: Killebrew is average in coverage, but has the size and physicality that makes him stand out in the box. With the success of Arizona’s Deone Bucannon as a hybrid linebacker, it is reasonable to assume that a team will look to Killebrew to fill that role for its defense. If he blows up the combine, he won’t get past the second day of the draft.
Sims first landed on NFL radars by running a verified 4.41 seconds in the 40 last spring. He earned three All-Big Sky honors in his career, including first-team accolades as a senior.
SUU cornerback LeShaun Sims/SUU Media Relations
Cowser has been building his NFL resume for four years running. He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2012 after spending more than two years abroad on an LDS mission. He was a first-team All-Big Sky and All-America selection each of the last two seasons, setting an all-time Big Sky record with 28.5 tackles for loss as a junior. He was runner-up to Montana defensive end Tyrone Holmes, a notable combine snub, for FCS Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Cowser, an explosive, aggressive pass rusher with a nose for the bal, has spent the last few months living and training in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He said his testing numbers “are right where I want to be” as he prepares to head to the combine. Cowser’s production cannot be denied but scouts have frequently questioned his athleticism.
“I have played against FBS schools and I’ve played some people who have ended up in the NFL from the Big Sky,” Cowser said. “And I played in the Shrine Game. I think I did well. I think that showed what sort of athlete I am. But people still wonder what kind of athlete I am, how fast I am, if I can compete. I say, ‘Let’s do this.’”
Cowser stood out at the Senior Bowl, testing himself against players sure to hear their names called in April. During the down time at the Senior Bowl, Cowser said scouts and NFL representatives interviewed prospects with great frequency.
“They asked a bunch of personal information and then they would throw a curve ball,” Cowser said. “They would ask about family situations, how you did in school, how many games you start. But then sometimes, they would be like, ‘How many weeks are in a year?’ just to see if you were ready. I thought those were pretty funny. They throw in little stuff to test who you are.”
Former SUU defensive end James Cowser talking with former MSU tackle and NFL hopeful John Weidenaar
The combine is part physical test, part analysis of personality. The exuberant Cowser is 25 years old who holds an aura of maturity that exceeds most of his peers. He is closing in on his master’s degree after earning his undergraduate degree in psychology in 2014. He hopes this week is his chance to prove he can perform at the highest level.
“In the end, it is really just going to come down to someone believing in me,” Cowser said. “I think I’m more mature because of my age and my life experience. I think it helps my body. Some of these guys have been pounding for 10-plus straight years. I only have four under my belt with a break in between. In the end, it amounts to performing. That’s what this business is about: can you make plays? I think I can.”
Sandland has been training with combine prep master Coach Tom Shaw. Cameron Foster, an agent who specializes in Northwest college prospects, represents Sandland. Foster facilitated Sandland’s attendance at Shaw’s Performance Enhancement camp. Foster also represents recent Big Sky draftees like former Eastern Washington offensive tackle Jake Rodgers and former Montana State offensive tackle Mike Person along with Brock Coyle, a Montana linebacker who is entering his third season with the Seattle Seahawks.
Shaw’s speed training is known around the league. Eight of the 10 fastest 40-yard dash times in combine history have been run by Shaw’s pupils. His camps boast 11 Super Bowl MVPs, 10 No. 1 overall draft picks, 145 first-round draft picks and the fastest combine time ever run. Shaw helped Coyle, a second-team All-Big Sky selection as a senior at UM in 2013, to run a sub-4.6 40 and earn a contract with the Seattle Seahawks hours after the draft. Former Big Sky standouts like Montana State wide receiver Elvis Akpla, Montana wide receiver Jimmy Farris and offensive lineman Corey Proctor and EWU quarterback Erik Meyer also trained at Shaw’s facility.
Former MSU tight end Beau Sandland
Shaw’s impressive client also includes quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and Donavon McNabb, running backs like Larry Johnson, Reggie Bush and Warrick Dunn, wide receivers like Calvin Johnson, Hines Ward, Devin Hester, Santonio Holmes, Deion Branch and Troy Brown, defensive backs like Deion Sanders, Ed Reed, Ty Law, Bernard Pollard and Aaneas Williams, defensive lineman like John Abraham, Jevon Kearse, Richard Seymour and Simeon Rice.
Sandland also mentioned the prevalence of interviews and interaction with NFL teams during the week of the NFLPA game. Each night, the group of all-stars would watch “NFLPA University” presentations “which would talk about all the stuff that goes along with playing in the NFL and being a professional athlete both on and off the field,” Sandland said. The coaching staff included former record-setting Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, Buffalo Bills all-time great wide receiver Andrew Reed and Pittsburgh Steelers iconic offensive lineman Jackie Slater.
During the week, Sandland tried to soak up as much information as he could. He spoke with all 32 NFL teams and talked frequently about the question of his one productive Division I season coming against small school competition. Sandland averaged 17.1 yards per catch and caught nine touchdowns for the fourth-highest scoring offense in the FCS.
Sandland referenced Tim Tebow’s dominance of the SEC and the national college football scene before failing in the NFL. He also mentioned that Denver Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware, a future Hall of Famer, hails from FCS Troy. He said he has no regrets for transferring to Montana State, saying his only regret is that he didn’t spend more time in Bozeman and calling it “the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Fromer MSU tight end Beau Sandland
He has spent the last six weeks training along side about two dozen other players, including Heisman trophy-winning Alabama running back Derrick Henry. Sandland has been pushed to the limit physically — “There’s no substitute for competition”, he said — but he was reluctant to reveal any solid numerical goals for his tests. He can bench press 400 pounds, so he should excel at the repetition test. He has been clocked as fast at 4.61 seconds in the 40 during his JC days. Now he just needs to put it all together and hope someone takes notice.
“This is the biggest job interview any of us have ever had,” Sandland said. “You really have three or four days with a national television audience with every GM and head coach and position coach and coordinator there watching you. It can be a high-stress situation but at the end of the day, you want to do your best. You are who you are so just be yourself.
“It doesn’t take all 32 teams to love you, it just takes one.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
