Ian Beckles

Ian Harold Beckles (born July 20, 1967) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a guard for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Beckles was the co-host of the highly-rated Beckles and Recher Show on iHeartMedia, Inc.'s WDAE (620 AM and 95.3 FM) in Tampa, Florida. Beckles was the host of his own program, The Ian Beckles Show on 102.5 The Bone on Sundays.

Early life and college Beckles' family emigrated to Canada in 1964. His mother (who passed in early 2009) was native of Guyana, while his father hails from Trinidad. Beckles grew up with his mother in a single-parent home in Montreal and played hockey and baseball as a youth (among his friends was future NFL fullback and Buc teammate Alonzo Highsmith). However, after playing football in high school, Beckles excelled and went on to play junior college football at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, earning all-conference honors as a sophomore.

Beckles later transferred to Indiana and became a standout guard during the 1989 season — his only as a starter. During Beckles' senior year, Indiana produced one of nation's top rushing attacks (214.5 yards per game). Beckles blocked for future NFL quarterback Trent Green, running backs Vaughn Dunbar (an NFL first-round pick) and Anthony Thompson (who won the Maxwell Award player of the year award in 1989), and Ernie Thompson, and alongside standout center Ron Vargo, who played briefly for the Arena Football League's Cleveland Thunderbolts in the early 1990s. Beckles received attention from NFL scouts as a senior when they turned to film from Indiana to scout, primarily, Thompson. As the team's primary pulling lineman, Beckles stood out on film.

Beckles graduated from IU with a BS in business.

Professional football career

Following Indiana, Beckles was selected in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL draft and the first round of the 1990 CFL draft, and started immediately for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at right guard. The establishment has attracted many customers from various walks of life, and has become an alternative to bars that sell alcohol.