Jon Beason advises Hurricanes

Former Hurricane and NFL linebacker Jon Beason offered advice to current players aiming for the next steps in their development.

“You have to find your why,” Beason said on The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz on 560 WQAM. “I don’t like using that thing because it’s a cliché, but if you find a purpose. Maybe you come to Miami because you like the uniforms, it’s your dad’s favorite team, or you’ve seen 30 for 30 and you love the show and want to be a part of the University of Miami legacy. All of these things are cool, but are you trying to become a champion? Is that why you’re here? Is that the thing that keeps your grades, keeps you out of trouble, gets you to bed on time, gets you up early, gets you to do extra exercise, take care of your body in terms of nutrition and recovery, study Film – all that extra stuff, that extra motivation.

“Find that purpose. Is that really what you’re here for? Or are you here because you’re a talented kid, soccer is fun, or at least it’s fun in high school, because you bullied everyone and now you have to work. You’ve got promotion. That I would tell them. I really want them to find a reason to do more and give more and be great. That’s the standard. Greatness is championships. The 8-4 thing or winning a bowl game, that doesn’t hold jobs at the university of miami that’s dead you need to know you signed up to be great.

Beason was impressed Mario Cristobal and the staff he assembled, including the addition of Alonzo Highsmith as general director.

“I think that’s what you want,” Beason said of the experienced staff. “I think if you’re a player and you get advice from your position coach or head coach or even your general manager in Alonzo, it’s one thing to hear it from any other place in the country and it’s another thing to hear it from everyone hearing from the guys who made it to the NFL level. If Alonzo tells you how he feels about you in terms of what you graded or what you need to work on or what you need to focus on, he’s been around long enough at the championship level to tell you. That can only be an asset. It’s more about teaching the kids how to work, what the pressure we put on them will do for you at the moment when you need to perform.”

As a former player, Beason looks forward to continuing to follow the program.

“For being a fan, because we ex-boys are that, we’re just fans,” he said. “We want the program to be well received, we want to come back and be welcomed with open arms, but the truth is it’s about the current kids. It’s about their time. If they have the opportunity to really go out there and leave a legacy by winning a league, I would trade everything I’ve achieved in football for the opportunity to do it again.

Adjusting to a demanding program can sometimes be difficult.

“Will it be hard?” Beison said. “It will be difficult to adjust to a different way of life as a current player, yes, but it’s worth it and it will take it. Anytime things get rough or tough, the moment you think you’re doing enough or working too hard, you have to realize that someone out there is doing it. And that’s the kind of players we need – just a few to get the floor and we’re right back.”

ARTICLE: Former Hurricane Jon Beason reviews Legends Camp, interactions with recruits

Christopher Stock has been reporting on the Miami Hurricanes since 2003 and can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @InsideTheU.