Utah Utes football: Beadles is a leader on and off the field

Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester, the only returning captain from last season, said Beadles is definitely one of the team leaders as the Utes work their way through spring ball.

"I'm focused on one thing right now, and that's the '09 season," Beadles said before addressing what kind of encore Utah could provide after going 13-0 with a No. 2 national ranking. "We're working our butts off, and we're going to take it one game at a time and see what happens."

Fortunately for the Utes, Beadles will be involved. He joined Sean Smith and Paul Kruger in seeking early evaluations from the National Football League.

All three received positive reviews, but Beadles was the only one who opted not to turn pro.

"It wasn't that serious. It was a move for me to kind of get an idea of where I was at and just see what I need to work on and need to move up to," said Beadles, who noted that earning his degree was a big thing for him. "I was always planning on coming back."

Beadles was named Utah's top offensive lineman last season. He earned first-team all-conference honors after racking up 42 pancake blocks and 27 cuts.

EXTRA POINTS: The Utes' ninth practice of the spring Tuesday was conducted under the best weather of the spring, with 70-degree temperatures ... Coach Kyle Whittingham called the practice "physical," but wasn't happy with the two-minute drills and the play of the special teams. "It's still very apparent we need a lot of work on our situational football," Whittingham said. "The special-teams play was very rough and we have a lot of work to do" ... J.J. Williams, a starting linebacker before his LDS mission, is back. He has been out with a hamstring injury, but is expected to be back in action Thursday.

Contributing: Mike Sorensen