Top 70 MAC Football Players: #18 Nick Beamish (C- Central Michigan Chippewas)

Coming in at #18 in our Top 70 MAC Football Players Countdown is a man that as a two-star prospect coming out of a small, high school was just looking for a school to call home. Around Christmastime of his senior year, Central Michigan offered Nick Beamish, at the time an undersized tackle at 6'3", 250 lbs, and the rest, as they say, is history.

A Wyandotte, MI native, Beamish stands at 6'3" and 310 lbs. and this season, will anchor a talented, but young line that seeks to keep Cooper Rush and whoever starts at running back this season upright. Beamish has gained a reputation around the MAC as a polished and intelligent player that is dependable and has thus far avoided the injury bug that plagued his former comrades in their collegiate careers.

If anything goes awry this season, Beamish will be be able to adapt quickly; over his four years of being a lineman, Beamish has played under four different quarterbacks, and has played multiple looks on offense. Under his watch, Thomas Rawls and Cooper Rush thrived, gaining 398.2 total yards per game, while scoring an average of 26.9 points per game in 2014. The change to an up-tempo offense shouldn't affect Beamish's game too much.

Beamish is going into his fourth year as a starter at center, where he has started every game of his collegiate career after a redshirt season in 2011. Last year, Beamish was named a first-team all-MAC selection for his performance during the season. This preseason, he has been named to the first-team all-MAC center, as well as to Phil Steele's preseason second team all-MAC squad. For the second year in a row, Beamish has been named to the Rimington Award Watch List for best center in the country.

It is yet to be seen what Beamish's pro prospects are, but if he can improve on last year and take a leap from being a dependable cog to a vital piece to the team's success, chances are he will land on one of the 32 teams in the league. It certainly helps that Beamish comes from a good pedigree at CMU. Beamish has honed his craft with help from the likes of Darren Keyton (Detroit Lions practice squad,) Jake Olson (CFL's Hamilton TigerCats,) Andy Phillips (Green Bay Packers camp invitee,) and Eric Fisher (first overall draft pick in 2013 to the Kansas City Chiefs.)

But the pro draft isn't until April; for now, Nick Beamish will look to improve his game and achieve personal and team-oriented success in his senior year.