Oak Creek Alum Beckum Tries for Super Bowl Title

INDIANAPOLIS - Giants tight end and graduate Travis Beckum has had a quiet week. Jake Ballard, his own teammate, has answered more questions about the Super Bowl and received more press.

Then there's Rob Gronkowski, of the Patriots, who made enough press for all tight ends in the league with news about his high ankle sprain.

Still, Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride thinks Beckum will make his mark to some degree.

“He's kind of at a crossroads because I think he's starting to show the maturity he needed to show in developing as a player," Gilbride told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. "He's always been a difficult match-up for linebackers, bigger than most safeties or nickels. It's always been staying healthy, which he's struggled to do, and having a command of the offense, what your assignments are, mastering some of the subtleties on that route. Once he does that, he'll have a chance to be a very good player."

While at Oak Creek, Beckum played linebacker, leading all players in tackles during the 2005 U.S. Army All-American game. He graduated in 2005 and went on to play at Wisconsin, where he converted to a tight end caught a record 75 catches for 982 yards as a junior.

He was selected in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft - No. 100 overall - and is in his third season as a pro.

This year, in an offense predicated on Eli Manning's ability to thread the needle, Beckum has only five catches for 93 yards and one touchdown. Ballard is the go-to end in receiving formations.

But Beckum has been a slight factor in the playoffs and with New England’s pass defense being down the drain this season, he could be a threat if needed.

"I think the deep balls are there," Beckum said in a story on ESPN New York. "Obviously they have a couple of standout players on defense but we got to capitalize on what they give us. You look at their numbers -- they're not very good at all."

Follow @TravisBeckum47 via Twitter and @ChrisVaccaro for constant updates from Super Bowl XLVI.