Beau Sandland did everything he needed to do, from a standout performance at an All-Star game to a strong showing at the NFL Combine (watch) to a head-turning pro day in front of a dozen scouts in Bozeman.
Yet as the NFL Draft played out last weekend, Sandland sat and waited.
As the end of the seventh and final round approached, the former Montana State All-America tight end wondered if maybe hearing his name called was not in the cards.
“I knew I wasn’t going to go Thursday or Friday but I expected to go Saturday,” Sandland said. “The draft started at 9 a.m. Pacific time so I got up at 8 a.m. and started watching. It was a long wait. But I had my close friends, my family members over here (at his home in Simi Valley, California) chilling, watching TV, playing some basketball, throwing the ball around. We had some food and relaxed. And it was awesome to have everyone around. At 4 p.m., I started to wonder.”
MSU tight end Beau Sandland runs after a catch vs NAU in 2015
As the picks continued to fly off the board, including 10 tight ends hearing their names called, Sandland wondered if his dream of being drafted might not become a reality.
Then his phone rang.
“I whispered to my family while I was on the phone that it was Carolina (Panthers) and they all started freaking out,” Sandland said. “My aunt started crying, my mom started crying. My grandfather, father and brother were all here. Then I saw my name come across the television. It was so surreal. It will end up being one of the best moments of my entire life. I know it’s something I will never forget.
Carolina chose Sandland with the second to last selection of the seventh round, No. 252 overall.
“It was a long day and they definitely made me wait, second to last pick,” Sandland said. “But it was worth the wait. I couldn’t be more excited.”
“I still don’t know if it’s sunk in really. You hear people, athletes say that all the time and now I know why they say that when something like that happens.”
Sandland is the first Montana State player since former All-America offensive tackle Mike Person to heard his name called in the seventh round of the 2010 draft.
Former MSU tight end Beau Sandland
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound physical marvel walked a long and winding path before playing his senior season in Bozeman. Out of high school, Sandland was a partial qualifier. He attended Pierce Junior College in Los Angeles. Two years later, he was the No. 1 junior college prospect in the country.
He had almost two dozen scholarship offers, including offers from perennial national powers like Baylor, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington. He ended up choosing Miami, perhaps the most prolific producer of NFL tight ends.
During the 2013 season, Sandland found himself in a position group with future NFL tight ends Asante Cleveland and Clive Waldorf. Sandland played in all 13 games and caught a touchdown against Savannah State. With Cleveland gone, Sandland figured he would be a key cog in the offense opposite Waldorf. Out of spring drills, he found his name again listed as No. 3 on the Hurricanes’ depth chart.
In the summer leading up to the 2014 season, former Miami tight ends coach Mario Cristobal connected Sandland with MSU offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey. Cramsey was Cristobal’s offensive coordinator at Florida International for one season. Sandland made the late decision to transfer and sat out the 2014 season.
In 2015, he was a key cog in one of the top offenses in the FCS. He caught 37 passes for 632 yards and nine touchdowns as MSU averaged 42 points per game.
“He’s a 260-pound guy who runs really fast and catches pretty much everything you throw to him,” Cramsey said last fall. “What he does to defenses is he causes a lot of matchup problems.”
MSU offensive players (from left) Mitch Herbert, John Weidenaar and Dakota Prukop celebrate with tight end Beau Sandland after a touchdown catch
During his time at Miami, Sandland played with Kevin Olsen, the younger brother of Carolina Panthers’ All-Pro tight end Greg Olsen. The elder Olsen visited Coral Gables frequently. Sandland again crossed paths with Greg Olsen at the NFL Combine in February earlier this year. Now he gets a chance to learn from one of the best tight ends in the league, himself an alum of “The U”.
“I can’t wait to go to practice and learn from a guy who I grew up watching and idolizing and respecting so much,” Sandland said. “Now I’m going to be in the same meeting room with him which will be pretty surreal.”
Sandland’s chance with the Panthers seems preordained. Despite receiving substantial hype with a stellar performance at the NFL Combine, he was invited for just one in-person visit with a specific team: Carolina.
The Panthers entered the draft with just five picks. Although some scouts and analysts had Sandland pegged as a top five tight end in the draft, he sat and waited all day Saturday as the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds passed by. By the time he realized Carolina was sparse on selections, he was simply relieved to hear his name called and thrilled he will get a chance in a place he already is familiar with.
“There’s 32 teams in the NFL and I’m not saying this just because the Panthers drafted me but from an unbiased position, the kind of offenses that everyone runs, the tight ends on teams rosters, what they drafted this year, I think Carolina — the city, the fan base, the offense they run — I think every aspect is the perfect fit for me,” Sandland said.
Former MSU tight end Beau Sandland with former MSU quarterback Dakota Prukop
Throughout his atypical path to one of the top 253 college prospects in the country, Sandland’s faith in himself has never waivered. He has always stated he had a firm belief his skills could help him earn a shot at the next level. Last Saturday, his dream came true.
“My whole life, I’ve always had a lot of confidence in the player I can be and what I can do,” Sandland said. “That’s never faltered one bit from high school to junior college to Miami to Montana State. And being able to come into a great situation last year at Montana State with a great quarterback like Dakota (Prukop) and a great tight ends coach with Coach (Daniel) DaPrato and one of the best offensive coordinators I’ve been around in Cramsey was ideal. I feel super indebted to them. Whatever I gave to Montana State, I got back 10-fold from them. To go there, have a good season, get a PA game invite, a combine invite to get myself more exposure and get my name out there helped keep the dream alive.
“I’ve always been determined. This is always what I’ve always wanted to do. Now I have that opportunity to do something with it.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
