When Broncos coaches asked rookie Zane Beadles to learn not just one but two or three offensive line positions this summer during Beadles’ first NFL training camp, Beadles could look at those massive playbooks and think, “Heck, this is nothing.”
At least, it might seem like nothing compared to the mechanical engineering classes Beadles took at the University of Utah and the advanced-placement calculus classes he took in high school. Beadles, a native of Casper who grew up in Salt Lake City, graduated from Utah with a 3.57 GPA and was a second-round draft pick.
Beadles has at last settled in as the starter at left guard for the Broncos, after also playing right tackle (in the regular season) and left tackle (in the preseason) for the team. He routinely hosts quite a crew of family members who travel to Denver from Salt Lake City, where his dad, Brad, lives with Zane’s stepmom and two younger siblings; and from Laramie, where his mom, Jamie, lives with stepdad Joe Legerski — the head women’s basketball coach at Wyoming — and two other siblings.
Q: You have quite a large family. What kind of big brother are you?
A: I’d like to think of myself as a great brother. It’s important to me to be a good role model for them. I love them to death. They’re a huge influence for me in what I try to do in my life. I try to give them somebody to look up to, someone who can be their friend, another adult figure in their life.
Q: What’s this NFL experience been like so far for all of them?
A: Awesome. I had a bunch of family for a draft party, everyone was yelling and crying when the call came in. They’ve been to tons of game, tons of support. My little brother in Wyoming loves it because all his friends are Broncos fans, so they all think it’s cool that I play for the Broncos.
Q: It couldn’t have been easy balancing engineering classes with football in college.
A: It was definitely a challenge, especially my junior and senior years, when I was getting into the core classes. There were a lot of late nights and not a ton of sleep, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have a great degree to fall back on.
Q: What were your favorite classes?
A: There were a couple. One was mechatronics. It was a year-long class where we had to build a robot. The other was my senior year, I took a class in sustainable energy. That really sparked some interest in me. I got into engineering because I wanted to design defense weapons, but I could also see myself going into sustainable energy.
Q: OK, you have to tell me more about this robot.
A: Every mechanical engineering major has to take it. They design a competition, and that’s what you design your robot off of. My year, it was based off of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” movie. . . . The robot had to navigate a course and detect either the magnet or LED lights, pick it up and take it back.
Q: Did your robot win the competition?
A: We did not win, but we placed in the top eight out of like 35 teams, so we were pretty proud of that.
Q: Has your academic background translated at all to football, or vice versa?
A: To be an engineer you have to have an analytical mind, and the way I see things, that definitely helps me on the field. Helps me understand the whole big picture of football. I like to know what everyone around me is doing, helps make me a better player.
Q: What has it been like finally being in the same position for an extended time?
A: It’s definitely nice to be in a spot. I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable every week. But at the same time I try to be as versatile as I can. I take pride in that.
About Zane Beadles
Position: Left guard
Height: 6-feet-4
Weight: 305 pounds
Year: Rookie
Hometown: Salt Lake City
College: Utah
Draft: Second round, No. 45 overall
2010 stats: Played in 12 games, with 10 starts
