Beau Benzschawel (born September 10, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and signed with the Detroit Lions as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2019. He has also played for the Houston Texans,

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, and

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 pla ...

High school career

Benzschawel played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

on the football team at Grafton High School. in addition, he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. After originally committing to Syracuse, Benzschawel committed to

on October 24, 2013. He had other offers from Iowa State,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

and

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, among others.

College career

After redshirting the 2014 season, Benzschawel battled a knee injury before his redshirt freshman season. During his sophomore season, Benzschawel started every game at

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

. Preceding his junior season, Benzschawel was named a pre-season All American by

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

. He injured his leg early in the season against Florida Atlantic. After being listed as questionable in the injury report for the following game, he wound up playing against

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

. After the season, he was named a third-team All-American. He projected as a mid-round pick, with reports highlighting his awareness and long arms. Eventually, he decided not to enter the 2018 NFL Draft after consulting with the NFL Draft Advisory Board. In August 2018, Benzschawel was named a preseason second-team All-America by CBS Sports. He was also named a preseason first-team All-American by USA Today and the Associated Press. At the end of the season, Benzschawel was named a Consensus All-American.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Benzschawel was signed by the Detroit Lions. On September 5, 2020, Benzchawel was waived by the Lions and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released from the practice squad on October 22, 2020. Benzschawel was re-signed to the practice squad on October 24. He was released on December 4, 2020.

Houston Texans

On December 9, 2020, Benzschawel was signed to the Houston Texans' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on January 2, 2021, for the team's week 17 game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. He was waived on April 12, 2021.

Washington Football Team

Benzschawel was claimed off waivers by the

on April 13, 2021. He was released on August 31, 2021, but re-signed to the practice squad the following day. On January 10, 2022, Benzschawel signed a reserve/future contract after the 2021 regular season ended. He was released on July 30, 2022.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On August 3, 2022, Benzschawel signed with the

. He was waived on August 22, 2022.

Tennessee Titans

On December 20, 2022, Benzschawel signed with the practice squad of the

, but was released three days later.

Personal life

Benzschawel's brother Luke played

for the Badgers. The brothers' father also played at UW as a

nose guard A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

. Beau is an avid fisherman.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benzschawel, Beau 1995 births Living people People from Grafton, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area American football offensive guards Wisconsin Badgers football players All-American college football players Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players Jacksonville Jaguars players Tennessee Titans players