Georgia Draft Profile: Robert Beal
It’s officially draft week in the NFL. Come Thursday, players from all across the College Football landscape will start to find their new homes. Last year that happened in record breaking fashion for the Georgia Bulldogs with 15 players picked. It won’t be quite that many this year, but Kirby Smart’s crew still should be well represented in the selections taking place over the course of three days in Kansas City.
With double-digit Georgia players expected to be picked, DawgsHQ prepares you by taking a look back on their respective collegiate careers with our Georgia Draft Profile series. Finally, in our last draft profile for 2023, a player who’s been around as long as any and has seen Georgia grow into the program it’s become, outside linebacker Robert Beal.
Robert Beal
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 247 pounds
Arms / Hands: 34 5/8 inches / 10 1/8 inches
High School / Hometown: Peachtree Ridge / Duluth, Ga.
On3 Industry Ranking (2017): No. 88 overall, No. 9 edge, No. 10 in state of Georgia
Robert Beal has seen it all at Georgia. A signee in the Class of 2017, Kirby Smart had yet to coach a game for the Bulldogs when Beal committed. He watched his future team go 8-5 with a 4-4 record in the SEC, finishing things off with a Liberty Bowl win over TCU. Beal’s time in red and black came full circle this past January though when he helped Georgia to a National Championship victory – it’s second in a row and third appearance in the title game during his career – against those same Horned Frogs the Bulldogs beat in Memphis December of 2016.
Beal played under three different defensive coordinators – four if you include the co-coordinator title held by both Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp this past season. His position group was coached by three different guys too. Through it all, Beal flew under the radar and did his job.
After redshirting in 2017, he found his way onto the field in 2018 – primarily on special teams but also some on defense. However, his playing time decreased in 2019 and 2020. In fact, he entered the transfer portal but decided to come back in the middle of it all. He did not record a stat in seven games during the 2020 season.
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Beal came up big for the Bulldogs in 2021 though, leading the team in sacks. He played in all 15 games, starting two, and finished with 23 tackles. Of his 6.5 sacks, five came in the final six games of the season with one each in both College Football Playoff contests. He had a season-high four stops against Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl before three in the National Championship Game win over Alabama.
Beal then returned to Georgia for his final year of eligibility in 2022 and had a career-high 26 tackles. Taking on a bigger role, especially after Nolan Smith suffered a season-ending injury, Beal wasn’t able to simply rush the passer or get into the backfield, and as a result, he didn’t end with as many sacks or tackles for loss. However, it certainly was a move that helped his development as an all-around outside linebacker.
Beal showed off his skills in Indianapolis with an impressive showing at the NFL Combine in March. Most mock drafts have him coming off the board on Day Three in the later rounds.
