Gary Beemer had never scored a touchdown in his entire career. The Newsome High graduate began playing football in high school, but as an offensive and defensive lineman, he didn't have many scoring opportunities. Until Saturday afternoon.In a gesture meant to reward Beemer for his dedication as a walk-on, coach Urban Meyer allowed the defensive tackle to score a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 48-10 win over Appalachian State. "Gary Beemer is one of my favorite players on our team," Meyer said. "He's a guy that's about as unselfish a guy as you can get. Our players love him because he goes every day. He's a walk-on. He's going to go on to a career in coaching. I grabbed him in the third quarter and said, 'If we get close enough, I'm going to hand you the ball.' It's just as respect for the kid." After running for 3 yards then no gain, Beemer scored on a 1-yard run with 3:18 remaining. He lost his helmet on the bottom of the pile but kept the game ball, which he gave to his brother and said will most likely end up on the family mantel."I grabbed the ball, I lowered my head, closed my eyes and ran, and when I opened them, I had scored a touchdown," Beemer said. "It was overwhelming. When you're a kid, you dream of something like this, and I'm a lineman. If I was a starter here, just scoring touchdowns as a defensive lineman is astronomical in itself. But for Meyer to just come up to me with seven minutes left and say, 'Would you like the ball on the goal line?' I'm still trying to process it and make it a reality."
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