Beavers: ‘Everyone Had A Part In This Success’
November 25, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Azeem Victor might not have been in Pullman, Wash. for Friday's Apple Cup, but he was watching.
And, when the linebacker saw what his stand in, DJ Beavers was doing, Victor took to Twitter to let everyone know just how proud he was to see his teammate step up.
"DJ Beaaaaaaavers!!" Victor tweeted. "You said you had me. Never doubted you once. Let's keep it going."
When ased about his teammate's tweet after the game, Beavers laughed. The redshirt freshman said he hadn't had a chance to look at it yet.
"Azeem is a great player," Beavers said. :"I always take the best advice I can from him. He was part of a great defense when he was playing. I just wanted to step in and fill his role."
During No. 5 Washington's 47-17 win over cross-state rival Washington State, Beavers played a pivotal part in the Huskies' success. He finished with four tackles. He forced and recovered a fumble and picked off a pass.
But, like many of his teammates, he didn't accept any of the credit for his performance.
"I've got to give it up to my teammates," he said. "Everyone had a part in this success. They helped me just like I helped them."
Beavers did plenty to help the Huskies. But the redshirt freshman said he was simply doing his job, stepping up when his teammates needed him.
"It's a next-man-up mentality," Beavers said, when asked to describe his role. "We're going to give it our all every time we come into the game. We're all going to go 100 percent. We just want to get that W at the end of the day."
With the Cougars looking for something positive heading into the half, it was Beavers who picked off a pass on the goal line to keep Washington State from building any momentum.
"I just trusted in my coaching," Beavers said. "A play just happened to fall into my hands. I made the most of it."
And, as he sprinted to the sideline with Sidney Jones jumping up and down behind him, Beavers couldn't wait to revel in the moment.
"I was just so excited," he said. "I didn't know what to think. I just wanted to run to the sideline and have fun with my teammates."
When Beavers redshirted last season, he remembers the intensity and energy that comes with an Apple Cup matchup. And on Friday, he found himself in the middle of it.
"It was fun," he said. "There's so much energy that comes with this game. People wait for it all year and it's just a great time. I just couldn't wait to play in general. This year, I've just been trying to get some playing time, anything I can do to help the team.
"We just want to ball out."
Against Washington State, with a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game on the line, that's exactly what he did.
