PROVO -- Shortly after 7 a.m. on Saturday, John Beck made a quick trip to the grocery store to buy some eggs and some diapers. When he returned home, he tried, but was unable to go back to sleep -- and for good reason.
He spent the day hanging around the house with his wife, Barb, and newborn son, Ty. Shortly after 5 p.m. he received a call from an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins. After some small talk, Beck asked if the Dolphins were going to pick him.
"He told me to hang on; there was someone who wanted to talk to me," Beck said. "Coach [Cam] Cameron got on the phone and asked if Barb and Ty would like to live in Florida."
And with that, BYU's second all-time leading passer and the 2006 Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year became the fourth quarterback selected in the 2007 NFL Draft.
By 9:15 p.m., after an onslaught of interviews and phone calls, Beck was on a flight heading to Florida as an NFL quarterback.
"It's been a long day," Beck said from Las Vegas, waiting for his connecting flight. "It has been incredibly exciting. I don't think it has all sunk in yet, but as soon as I get to Florida and shake Coach Cameron's hand, it might start to sink in a little."
Beck will arrive in Ft. Lauderdale shortly after 6 a.m. on Sunday and will meet with the director of player personnel for breakfast. He is also scheduled to meet with head coach Cam Cameron and will be introduced to the Miami media during a Sunday morning press conference. By Sunday afternoon he'll be on his way back to Provo.
"It's pretty exciting," he said. "The whole process was like getting a mission call. You have no idea where you're going to go. It can be a little overwhelming, but when I saw Miami pass on Brady [Quinn] in the first round, I thought I could end up with the Dolphins. I can't ask for a better situation. Miami is the team that wanted me the most. It is the very best situation."
Quarterback John Beck is introduced in Miami by head coach Cam Cameron.
Shortly after receiving the news, Beck received a phone call from former teammate, John Denney. Entering his third year with the Dolphins, Denney has been Miami's long snapper for the past two seasons.
"It was pretty cool," Beck said. "He called and said he wanted to be the first member of the Dolphins to call and congratulate me and welcome me to the NFL."
Similar to his knowledge of the quarterback legacy at BYU, Beck is heading to a team that has it's own storied history.
"Miami has a great history," Beck said. "Back in the 70's and 80's, the Dolphins were tough to beat. They remain the only team to ever go undefeated. Dan Marino, who held so many NFL records, is one of the greatest QB's to play the game. They have such a rich tradition, and they're a team trying to get back to that. My experience at BYU has taught me a lot about that, and I hope I will be able to contribute."
The Mesa, Ariz., native is heading to a program where the quarterback situation is largely unclear and undetermined. He is currently one of four quarterbacks on the roster. With the possibility of an off-season trade, Beck could compete for playing time during his rookie season.
Beck was the first of two second-round picks for the Dolphins -- the 40th overall. As the fourth quarterback selected in the draft, he was one of only six QB's picked during the first three rounds of the draft.
Beck, who will wear No. 9 with the Dolphins, displays his 2007 Draft jersey.
The first BYU quarterback drafted since current QB coach Brandon Doman was picked in the fifth round by the San Francisco 49'ers in 2002, Beck is only the third player from BYU to ever be selected by the Dolphins. He is also the first Cougar to be selected in the second round since Doug Jolley was picked in the second round by Oakland during the 2002 draft.
Beck's second-round selection marks the highest draft position by a BYU quarterback in the NFL Draft since Jim McMahon was picked in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
Beck led the BYU offense that finished the season ranked fourth nationally in passing offense (323.54 y/game) and total offense (465.46 y/game). The BYU offense also ranked fifth in scoring, posting 36.8 points per game. Additionally, the Cougars had a 167.08 passing efficiency on the season to rank second nationally. Beck finished his career at BYU second only to Ty Detmer in total yards (11,021) and total offense (11,059). He equaled Jim McMahon and John Walsh with 17, 300-yard games and compiled 79 career touchdowns to rank third behind Detmer and McMahon. He holds five Mountain West Conference career records and ranks second all-time in league history with a career completion percentage of over 64 percent.
Beck led BYU to an 11-2 season as a senior, including an undefeated conference season, a No. 15 national ranking and a 38-8 victory over Oregon in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl.
Quarterback
6-2, 216, Sr.
Mesa, AZ / Mountain View HS
At BYU
SUMMARY: Finished his career at BYU as the Cougars' second all-time leading passer with 11,021 yards ... also finished second behind Ty Detmer in total offense with 11,059 yards ... totaled 17 different 300-yard games, ranking tied for second with Jim McMahon and John Walsh for most career 300-yard games ... played in 43 games during his career, ranking second behind Detmer (46 games) ... totaled 79 career touchdown completions, ranking third behind Detmer (121) and McMahon (84) ... totaled a career efficiency rating of 141.29--the ninth highest career efficiency rating in BYU history ... the Mountain West Conference career record holder in total offense (11,059), passing attempts (1,418), completions (885), passing yards (11,021), touchdown completions (79) ... ranks second on the MWC career list with a completion percentage of 62.4.
SENIOR - (2006): Earned second-team All-America honors by The Sporting News and collected All-America honorable mention honors by CBSSportsline.com and Pro Football Weekly ... named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year ... was a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist and was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award ... earned the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 26 after leading BYU to a 33-31 victory over Utah ... he was also recognized by ESPN's SportsCenter with the top play of the day (game-winning touchdown pass to Jonny Harline vs. Utah) ... a Mountain West Conference record after being named the league's offensive player of the week seven different times ... ranked second in the nation with an efficiency rating of 169.05 on the season to record the fifth best single-season efficiency rating in school history ... threw only eight interceptions during the season, marking the fifth lowest single-season total in BYU history ... posted a 69.3 completion percentage, setting a MWC single-season record ... also set a league single-season record with a completion percentage of 70.4 against league opponents ... led the Mountain West and ranked fourth nationally with an average 323.08 yards of total offense per game ... averaged a league best 323.8 yards passing per game ... led the MWC with an average 317.2 yards passing against league opponents ... recorded 300 (or more) yards passing in six games during the season, including four straight to close out the season ... had three or more touchdown completions in seven games during the year ... earned MWC Player-of-the-Week honors after posting 436 yards passing on 38-of-59 attempts in the Cougars' double-overtime loss at No. 23 Boston College ... was named the league's offensive player of the week for a second time after helping BYU to a 31-17 win over 15th ranked TCU in Fort Worth, ending the Horned Frogs nation's longest 13-game win streak ... was 23-of-37 for 312 yards and three touchdowns against TCU ... the victory over TCU marked BYU's first over a ranked opponent on the road since the 1997 season ... completed 11-of-18 attempts for 205 yards and three touchdowns in the second half against the Horned Frogs ... named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time after leading BYU to a 47-17 win over San Diego State ... broke the MWC career touchdown record in the game, completing 16-of-21 attempts for 267 yards and a season-high four touchdowns ... tallied a career-high efficiency rating of 245.9, marking the highest rating by a BYU quarterback since Steve Sarksian posted a rating of 260.8 against Rice in 1996 ... in the first half against the Aztecs, Beck completed 12-of-15 attempts for 190 yards and three touchdowns ... named the Cingular All-America Player of the Week after throwing for 250 yards on 18-of-23 attempts in three quarters of play to lead BYU to a 52-7 win over UNLV ... marked the second straight week he had an efficiency rating of over 200 (218.3 vs. UNLV) ... completed 23-of-31 attempts for 258 yards and three touchdowns in the Cougars' 33-14 win at Air Force ... the Air Force game marked his fourth straight game with three or more touchdown completions ... engineered points in six of the seven drives he played in during the game ... helped BYU pick up at least a share of the league title with a 55-7 win over Wyoming ... carved up Wyoming's defense -- the nation's fourth ranked pass defense -- connecting on 20-of-26 attempts for 313 and four touchdowns (two rushing) ... was named the league's top offensive player for the sixth week during the season after leading the Cougars to a 42-17 win over New Mexico to claim the outright MWC title ... threw for 464 yards on 28-of-42 attempts and five touchdowns (one rushing) in the decisive victory ... was named the league's offensive player of the week and the Walter Camp Football Foundation national Offensive Player of the Week after leading BYU to a 33-31 come-from-behind victory over in-state rival Utah ... threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns, including an 11-yard game-winning pass to Jonny Harline as the clock expired to give BYU the victory ... broke his own Las Vegas Bowl record with 375 yards passing in the Cougars' 38-8 victory over Oregon to give BYU its first bowl victory since 1996 ... completed 28-of-46 attempts vs. the Ducks ... helped BYU engineer its most dominating home season ever, posting a perfect 6-0 record along with a nation's best home scoring margin of +35.16 ... led BYU on a 10-game winning streak, marking the nation's second longest active winning streak ... named the Mountain West Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News and Blue Ribbon ... also earned TSN, Blue Ribbon, Athlon and Phil Steele preseason All-MWC honors.
JUNIOR - (2005): An All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection ... named Academic All-MWC ... named team offensive MVP ... threw for a league-best 3,709 yards, marking the most yards by a BYU quarterback since Brandon Doman threw for over 3,500 yards in 2001 ... ranked fifth nationally with a league-best 309.1 yards-per-game average ... totaled seven 300-yard games during the season (11 during his career), including a league-high 517 yards against TCU on Sept. 24 ... twice named the MWC Offensive Player or the Week, including a 371-yard, three-touchdown performance at New Mexico and a league-best five-touchdown, 517-yard outing against TCU ... threw 27 touchdowns on the season, including a league-high 19 TD's against Mountain West competition ... set a MWC single-game record with 41 completions (vs. Boston College on Sept. 3) ... set a MWC single-game record with 517 yards passing (vs. TCU on Sept. 24) ... tied a MWC single-game record with five TD's (vs. TCU on Sept. 24)... currently ranks second all-time in the Mountain West with 7,136 career passing yards and ranks first in the Mountain west with 3,709 yards in 2005 ... a 2005 Davey O'Brien Award candidate ... earned preseason All-Mountain West honors from Lindy's Football Annuals, Phil Steele's College Football Preview, Athlon Sports and Street & Smith's ... rated as the top passing quarterback in the MWC by Street & Smith's ... listed as one of the top-30 players in the Mountain West Conference by College Football News ... ranked as one of the top-40 quarterbacks in the country by Phil Steele's College Football Preview ... participated in spring drills ... completed 15-of-24 pass attempts for 116 yards in the annual Blue-White game.
SOPHOMORE - (2004): Earned second-team All-Mountain West honors as a sophomore ... started at quarterback in 10 of the Cougars' 11 games during the season ... broke the Mountain West Conference and BYU single-game record with 67 pass attempts against UNLV on Oct. 8 ... holds the MWC single-game sophomore record with 34 completions against UNLV ... averaged a MWC best 261.0 yards per game against league opponents ... ranked second in the MWC, averaging 233.0 yards per game (vs. all opponents) ... named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Cougars to a 41-24 win over Air Force ... posted an efficiency rating of 204.8 in the Cougars' 49-16 win over San Diego State, marking the highest quarterback rating since early in the 2001 season ... passed the 3,000-yard mark as a sophomore, ranking as the Cougars' third most prolific sophomore quarterback ... had at least one 50 + yard completion in six of 11 games ... connected on a season-high 82-yard touchdown completion (to Austin Collie) vs. SDSU ... recorded a season-high 390 yards on 35 attempts against Boise State ... ranked second in the MWC with 15 touchdown completions on the season ... recorded a season-high four touchdown completions against Air Force ... participated in spring drills ... completed 10-of-18 attempts for a game-high 171 yards and one touchdown in the annual Blue-White scrimmage ... completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Todd Watkins.
FRESHMAN - (2003): Earned Academic All-Mountain West honors ... also earned letterman honors as a true freshman ... competed in eight games, including four starts ... became only the second true freshman to start at quarterback in BYU history (vs. Stanford) ... completed 22-of-45 attempts for a season-high 279 yards against the Cardinal, including a season-long 56-yard bomb to Rodney Wilkerson ... completed 19-of-35 attempts for 193 yards and one touchdown against Air Force ... credited with his first career victory on Oct. 4, leading the Cougars to a 44-36 win at San Diego State ... credited with 17-of-26 attempts for 180 yards and a season-high two touchdowns ... completed a 35-yard lob to Fahu Tahi to tie the score at 14-14 against the Aztecs ... after throwing two interceptions in his first game as a starter (vs. Stanford), did not throw a single interception in over 80 attempts, spanning a stretch of two straight games ... saw action at fourth-ranked USC, completing one pass for 12 yards ... carried the ball four times for 29 yards ... suffered a concussion against the Trojans ... saw his first collegiate action in the first half of the Cougars' 24-13 win over Georgia Tech ... sacked for a 10-yard loss on his first play from scrimmage ... was credited with a fumble (recovered by BYU) on his second play from scrimmage ... threw an interception on his first collegiate pass attempt -- his third play from scrimmage ... participated in spring drills after returning from a Church mission ... completed a combined 20-of-39 attempts for 260 yards in three different spring scrimmages ... completed 6-of-6 attempts for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Cougars' second spring scrimmage.
Before BYU
Earned Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete honors at Mountain View High School ... a three-year letterwinner ... led Mountain View HS to a state championship as a senior ... posted an overall record of 25-2 over his junior and senior seasons ... earned first-team all-region, first-team all-state, USA Today All-American honorable mention and Dairyman first-team All-America honors ... named the region Offensive Player of the Year ... garnered first-team Super All-State and Super All-State Player-of-the-Year honors ... recognized as the Arizona High School Football Player of the Year ... earned both the Ed Dougherty and Fred Enke Awards (Arizona Quarterback of the Year) ... named the MVP during the state championship game as a senior ... selected as the Arizona All-Star game Most Valuable Player ... recognized by Fox Sports as the Arizona 5A Player of the Year ... holds the Arizona high school record with 42 touchdown completions in a single season with only 4 interceptions ... also lettered twice in baseball as a pitcher and an infielder.
Personal
Born in Hayward, Calif. ... parents are Wendell and Julie Beck ... served a Church mission in Lisbon, Portugal (2000-2002) ... communicates fluently in Portuguese ... started playing football at the age of eight ... an Eagle Scout ... father participated in track & field at BYU ... married to Barbara Burke of Ferron, Utah in May, 2004 ... expecting first child Spring, 2007 ... graduated from BYU in December, 2006 (communication studies).
Career Stats
Yr. Gms Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD LG Pct. Eff.
2003 8 145-73-5 864 5 56 50.3 34.54
2004 11 343-192-8 2,563 15 82 56.0 128.51
2005 12 513-331-13 3,709 27 67 64.5 110.46
2006 12 417-289-8 3,885 32 71 69.3 169.05
TOTAL 43 1,418-885-34 11,021 79 82 62.4 141.29
Career Highs
Att: 67 (vs. UNLV; Oct. 8, 2004)
Cmp: 41 (vs. Boston College; Sept. 3, 2005)
Int: 3 (vs. No. 1 USC; Sept. 18, 2004)
Yds: 517 (vs. TCU; Sept. 24, 2005)
TD: 5 (vs. TCU; Sept. 24, 2005)
Lg: 82 (vs. San Diego State; Nov. 6, 2004)
Eff: 245.9 (vs. San Diego State; Oct. 7, 2006)