Beanie Bishop was not supposed to be in the position he was in.
Six years into his college career, playing in his final game, Bishop was put on West Virginia’s punt return unit as Preston Fox was sidelined with an injury.
Bishop would field a kick to his left, and cut it up field to his right, ultimately scoring a 78-yard punt return as the Mountaineers beat North Carolina, 30-10.
“I just had a lot of practice. [Preston] Fox, he didn’t play, he coached me up. And he helped a lot and just getting those reps it helped,” Bishop said. “I had to run to go get it. I think he out-kicked his coverage. Made one or two guys miss and then off to the races.”
Bishop could have opted out of playing in the bowl game. Many players have and will across the sport, but for Bishop, that thought never entered his mind. Instead, what entered was the people he represents, and the thought of teammates of his and the fight they show.
“It just shows just how tough the state of West Virginia is. It wasn’t really a thought process behind me playing and those things,” Bishop said of possibly skipping the bowl game. “I seen Zach Frazier, his last play hurry up and with that kind of grit, I feel that’s what the people in the state of West Virginia have and we represent the state.”
Bishop said he has worked a lot on special teams since Fox was injured against Baylor. In the pre-bowl practices, it’s something the Mountaineers worked a lot on was special teams work and for Bishop that work helped in the end.
“We work special teams everyday, like a lot. that was one of the things I practiced Thursday and Friday. it’s something we visualize too as well. The blocks were set up well, they over pursued to the left side. I had a lot of blockers for however many guys they had and I just outran a lot of people,” Bishop said.
Bishop was named a Consensus All-American, just the 13th in program history.
“He out-kicked his courage and that was one of the things we’ve seen a lot on film, it maybe wasn’t a guy within five yards.
When I caught it, I looked up, and I didn’t see anybody,” Bishop said. “I saw one guy coming up just made him miss and I knew once you make the first guy miss on punt return, it’s likely a touchdown if you don’t get caught.”
Bishop’s season comes to an end as he finishes with 67 total tackles, four interceptions, and now, a punt return touchdown.
Photo by Dale Sparks, WVU Athletics
