Aaron Bruce Beasley (born July 7, 1973) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for nine seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, and received All-American recognition. He was drafted in the third round of the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

, and played professionally for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the NFL. Most Recently, Beasley received consensus All American recognition and is currently a nominee for the class of 2020 Hall of Fame

Early years

Beasley was born in

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Aaron Beasley
Retrieved February 5, 2012. He graduated from Pottstown Senior High School in 1991, and attended

Valley Forge Military Academy Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in ...

Wayne, Pennsylvania Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas ...

, for a fifth preparatory year.databaseFootball.com, Players
Aaron Beasley
. Retrieved February 5, 2012.

College career

Beasley attended West Virginia University, where he was a three-year starter for the

West Virginia Mountaineers football The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games at Milan Puskar ...

team at cornerback. In the 1994 season, Beasley led the nation with ten interceptions—also a WVU single-season record, had an interception in six consecutive games during the season. He also had a career-high three interceptions against the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 va ...

. He finished 1994 with 57 tackles, a then school-record eighteen deflected passes, and three tackles for a loss. In 1995, Beasley was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and was a

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...

semifinalist. He was also a first-team All-

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

selection and semifinalist for the Big East Defensive Player of the Year Award. He finished his college career with nineteen interceptions (second most in Mountaineers history), three of which he returned for touchdowns, and 143 tackles. Beasley was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2009

Professional career

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Beasley in the third round (63rd pick overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft, and he played for the Jaguars from to . His season for the Jaguars was his most impressive statistically, when he started all sixteen regular season games and amassed six interceptions, 200 interception return yards, and two interceptions for touchdowns,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Aaron Beasley
Retrieved February 5, 2012. one of which against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

set the team record for the longest interception return at 93 yards. He also played for the

from to and the

in . In his nine-season NFL career, he played in 121 games (105 as a starter) and compiled 423 tackles, 24 interceptions, ten forced fumbles and 8.5 quarterback sacks. Named #20 - Top Jaguars in 2019

Life after football

Beasley resides in Sewell, New Jersey, with his wife Umme and their three daughters. He is the founder of the Athletic Business Alliance. Beasley trains youth, high school, college and professional athletes through the many programs he has designed and customizes to fit the needs of each client based on skill set, age and ability in group settings and individually.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Aaron 1973 births Living people All-American college football players American football cornerbacks Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Jets players People from Pottstown, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania West Virginia Mountaineers football players People from Pasadena, Maryland Valley Forge Military Academy Trojans football players Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania