Razorbacks' Staff Impressed by Freshman Defensive Tackle

“I would say Danny, the thing that’s impressed me about him more often than not is his eagerness and willingness to come in and work,” defensive line coach Landius Wilkerson said. “He’ll come in and sit in a meeting by himself one-on-one with the coaches, wants to learn ‘what can I get better at?’ The biggest thing I tell him is, Danny’s hard on himself, man.

"Danny will make a mistake and he’s mad. Danny will go in and play with the ones and make a tackle, but then I’ll go, ‘Hey, good job man!’ [And he’ll say] ‘Coach, I messed up the play before.’ So he’s trying to be a perfectionist.

"For a young guy, because the kid’s still 17 years old, he’s in here every day, trying to learn the playbook and master his craft. He’s been the biggest bright side to me because he’s been in my office the most, working the hardest individually, trying to be ready to play this season.”

One area Beale cannot be challenged early on is in his work ethic that can set him apart from other freshmen in his class.

"“The guy is always, ‘hey can I come in and watch film? Can I come and get better?’" Wilkerson said. "The guy, he really wants to be good.

"For him now, it’s the same thing for everybody across the board, it’s consistency. ‘Hey man, you can’t have a good play, bad play; good play, good, good, good; bad, bad, bad. Hey, we need you to be consistent’. If he can do that, he’ll be alright.”

Arkansas had a good run recruiting interior linemen under Bret Bielema in the mid-2010s. He signed 5-star tackles McTelvin Agim out of Hope and a pair of 4-star’s in Bijhon Jackson and Austin Capps. 

While each played sporadically as freshman, none earned extensive playing time until later in their careers. 

Most defensive tackles have to patiently wait a couple of years before they can match the strength and intensity of SEC football, but it sounds like Beale has made that transition well through the early stages of spring practice.

Instant impact freshman tackles don't grow on trees as there are only a handful of them who standout in Year 1.

Notable young linemen who played vital roles in their team's success include Da'Ron Payne (Alabama) and Derrick Brown (Auburn), as both programs allowed its talent to develop by blending in with veteran leaders.

With Silverfield's staff wiping the Razorbacks slate clean upon his arrival, Beale will have every opportunity to receive extensive playing time as a freshman.

That's especially true if he lives up to his billing as a Top 15 recruit.

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