Nebraska assistant relies on strong bonds to reel in talent

Sean Beckton is about as Central Florida as one can get.

That’s why Sanford Seminole coach Don Stark was giving him trouble Friday night before the Seminoles’ game at Port Orange Spruce Creek.

“I told him, ‘That red and black doesn’t look right on you.’ The black still looks good, but not the red,” Stark said of the Nebraska tight ends coach and former UCF assistant, who was in Central Florida recruiting last week during the Cornhuskers’ bye week.

Beckton formerly served many assistant coaching roles at UCF during a 20-year period. He survived numerous staff changeovers, working for head coaches Gene McDowell, Mike Kruzcek, George O’Leary and Scott Frost, whom he followed to Nebraska.

The move to Nebraska, however, came somewhat reluctantly.

Beckton, who played high school football at Daytona Beach Seabreeze and then became a UCF Hall of Fame receiver for the Knights (1987-90), was torn at the time. He would have stayed at UCF if he had his way when Josh Heupel was hired in 2017. Then again, the financial security Nebraska offered was also appealing.

He had a house in Orlando, which he kept. His family was entrenched in the community and everything was moving along smoothly for the Becktons. Then UCF failed to come through.

For most who knew him as UCF’s top liaison, it seemed like a no-brainer that Beckton would stay, giving Heupel and his staff established in-roads into the

Central Florida community. It wasn’t just the local area, either. Beckton built — and still has — a strong reputation from Atlanta to Orlando, and he had been a key factor bringing top talent to UCF.

He wasn’t, however, shown courtesy when Heupel began filling his staff at UCF. Beckton felt he was treated as an afterthought: someone Heupel might consider keeping on staff if a better option could not be found.

There was none better than Beckton. Nebraska is reaping the rewards now.

Beckton is making his mark in the Midwest. He already has landed Nebraska commitments from two of the top 20 players in the Sentinel’s 2020 Central Florida Super 60 — Spruce Creek running back Marvin Scott III and Orlando Evans cornerback Tamon Lynum.

UCF, meanwhile, has no top-20 Super 60 players. The lone commitment from the Orlando area to UCF in the current senior class is Seminole’s Jordan Davis, the brother of another Beckton recruit, Gabe Davis.

Jordan Davis, a tight end/ offensive lineman who has battled injuries this season, is the No. 33 player in the current Sentinel Super 60.

Meanwhile, Beckton and Nebraska have made a big catch landing Scott, who picked the Huskers over Alabama, and No. 18 Lynum.

Stark, who coached Beckton’s son, Sean Beckton Jr., when he was at Orlando’s University High, has known the elder Beckton for years, as have many other coaches and players in the Orlando area.

He remembers when Sean Beckton recruited Gabe Davis from Seminole. Davis is now one of the top receivers in the country, and the junior will likely leave UCF early to enter April’s NFL draft.

“I think [Beckton] has been very instrumental in Central Florida. He recruited Gabe,” Stark said. “He’s a straight shooter. He’s very honest with you when he’s recruiting you. Some guys will tell coaches and kids what they want to hear. … That was kind of like the thing with Gabe. Coach Beckton wasn’t sure if Gabe would be better at receiver or tight end and I was like, ‘Coach, he can play receiver for you. If you tell him he’s a tight end, you ain’t gonna get him.’ Look at him now.

“That’s how some coaches are, though. They’ll recruit you at one position and not tell you they’re going to move you until after you get there. He’s not that type of guy. You can trust him. ”

Scott laughed when it was suggested Beckton lured him away to Nebraska out of the grasp of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide staff. Saban even called Scott personally to offer a scholarship.

“Yeah, that’s true. Yes sir,” acknowledged Scott, a Volusia County product like Beckton. “Coach Beckton is from Florida, and he knows how it is going away from home and going to a different state. I trust his word and I believe everything he says.

“It’s really important. I can relate to him. He knows everyone in the area. He knows my dad. He just knows everyone in the area, and everybody knows him. He coached in this area [at Mainland

High].”

Scott also said if Beckton had remained at UCF, it would have been a major feather in the cap for the Knights in trying to get Scott to the Orlando school.

“It would have been a big help. The way that [Nebraska] recruits is all about family and telling the truth and they really care about their players,” Scott said. “[UCF] came strong, but it’s not as strong as Nebraska’s recruiting was.”

Beckton reached out to 2021 Foundation Academy coach Brad Lord last week to let the coach know he wanted to offer a scholarship to little-known tight end/ H-back Danny Stutsman, who has actually been waiting on an offer from UCF. Stutsman now has offers from Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh and Kent State.

“He came last week and said, ‘Coach, I’m here to look at Danny Stutsman because I’m offering him today,’ ” Lord said. “Danny’s a win-win because he can go to a school and who knows where he’ll play: H-back, outside linebacker, safety, whatever.”

Lord has seen Beckton in action for nearly 20 years, and he knows what the coach is all about when it comes to judging talent as well as character.

“He’s recruited several of my kids in the past. … Beckton is just an awesome guy. He knows his stuff. He was one of the first bigschool coaches to recognize there was talent in the smaller schools,” Lord said. “Like when Agape was good 10 years ago, he got Drico Johnson. He doesn’t just go to the big schools and he also wants complete kids. He doesn’t want to recruit kids who are going to give him headaches.

“I’ll be honest with you. I think it’s a no-brainer for UCF to offer Danny, but Beckton knows. He knows talent. … He said he watched his film for two minutes and he said, ‘We’re going after that kid.’

“UCF should have kept him. He’s a classy guy. He’s one of the best recruiters. He asks all the right questions and when he walks through that door he’s prepared. He’s done all his homework. He wants to know about a kid’s character and about his grades and what kind of student he is. Those are the first questions he asks, and then we get into the football stuff.”

UCF started the Heupel regime on a strong note last year, landing three Orlando area players in Raymond Cutts, Matt Lee and Damarius Good, but that was on the heels of the Knights’ undefeated 2017 season. We’ll see if UCF can regain control on Central Florida recruiting. It has always been tough for UCF to keep kids home.

One thing is for sure, however. Winning changes a lot of things, and they way UCF looks in the eyes of local players has probably never been stronger. Current quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby is the main Central Florida recruiter for UCF, and he knows what he’s up against as Power 5 schools come in to pluck away talent.

Putting talent on the field helps win games, and Beckton certainly would have helped immensely in that area.