Syracuse Football: Get to Know Your Orange Man - #85 Beckett Wolf Wales

Last year we counted down every SU football player from Chandler Jones (#99) to Phil Thomas (#1), as you can see here. Well both of those guys (and a few more in between) are gone and it's time to profile the entire 2012 Syracuse Orange football roster starting with the highest number and working out way down. Let's get to it...

Player: Beckett Wolf Wales

TNIAAM-Approved Nickname: Lord Beckett of Wales

Number: #85

Position: Tight End

Year: Junior

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 253

Hometown: Venice, FL

High School: Venice High School

2011 Stats: Lord Beckett played in all twelve games for the Orange in 2011, starting one of them. He caught three balls for 25 yards while spending most of his time as a blocker and whenever uber-tight end Nick Provo needed a break. Wales recovered nicely after missing all of last spring due to family issues.

2012 Projections: Wales is a very interesting proposition heading into the 2012 season. He's No. 1 on the depth chart along with David Stevens in a position that Ryan Nassib was very favorable to last season. Max Beaulieu and Stevens are vying for playing time and pass-catches and that's before two very capable freshman arrive this fall, four-star Ron Thompson and three-star Josh Parris. Wales got a lot of looks in the spring practices we did see so if he's improved his pass-catching ability and is able to carry that extra bulk he's packed on (up to 253 from 233), we might see him catching his first touchdown in a Syracuse uniform this season.

How'd He Get Here: Wales was recruited by former SU assistant Stan Drayton. He cited playing time, and really fitting in at Syracuse with the team and the University, as a reason for choosing SU.

What did Scout/Rivals Say?: Both rated Wales as a two-star recruit. Scout.com listed him as the 57th rated tight end in the country in 2010.

Money Quote: "I’m ready to go. My personal matter is over and I’m ready to get ahead of the season. I just had some personal issues at home that I had to take care. I was working out when I was at home. I was always planning to come back." - Wales, after returning to school after dealing with family issues last year.

Links of Wonder: Here's Beckett's Twitterfeed, which is apparently trademarked. He likes to get right to the point, just how a tight end should tweet.

What Does Marrone Think?: "At the end of the day he developed a whole lot faster than we thought he would in terms of how much bigger he got," Marrone talking about Wales as a freshman.

Interesting Nugget O'Interest: Beckett's middle name is Wolf. This bears repeating at all times.

Interesting Nugget O'Interest 2: Wales has "Go Hard or Go Home" tattooed on the inside of his forearm in traditional Chinese lettering. Hopefully it's correct and doesn't actually translate into "Socks Go In The Special Place" or something weird like that.

Let Us Get a Good Look Atchya: Here's Beckett along with Ryan Nassib, Marcus Sales, Zach Chibane talking about the spring game: