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Aiden Beadles tackling new challenge as part of Wabash College football program
Somewhere in the rush of the end of the school year, Aiden Beadles finally found a place to tackle his academic and athletic needs after high school.
That location is Wabash College where Beadles will become a member of the Little Giant football program starting next month in the 2024-25 school year, even if everything went a bit under the radar.
“I committed to Wabash in mid-April,” Beadles said. “It was just such a busy time that I never got the chance to get with the coaches to do an official signing.”
Given Beadles’ status as the state leader in tackles in the 2023 football season a year after being third in the state in 2022, it came as a surprise to many that more attention was not paid to the Eagle senior, who was named to the IFCA All-State Team, the Wabash Valley All-Star Game Gold team, the South squad at the IFCA North-South All-Star Game as well as multiple other awards, including the Indianapolis Colts High School Man of the Year award.
Such was the case that Beadles said the coaches at Wabash were surprised to find out he was still available.
“It was around January that I first started getting in contact with the Wabash coaching staff,” Beadles said. “Some of them thought I had been picked up by a bigger school. The same went for DePauw.
“I went on an overnight academic visit to Wabash while also getting to do some football stuff. I got to know some of the coaches, saw the campus and realized I really liked both the program and the academic side of Wabash.”
The NCAC rivals soon ramped up their pursuit of Beadles but the Crawfordsville-based Little Giants won out in the end.
“When it came down to it, I decided between DePauw and Wabash,” Beadles noted. “They are both similar schools with high-level academics and honors, as well as two good football programs.
“I made the decision to go to Wabash in part because I wanted to get a little bit away from Greencastle. The stadium is awesome, the campus is well kept and housing in the area is great. I don’t have a complaint about the area.”
Helping Wabash’s cause was the influence of a pair of South Putnam graduates on the team in Ethan Harcourt and Mitchell Bock, both of whom Beadles said helped steer him that direction.
“Ethan helped a lot with my decision making,” Beadles pointed out. “He helped get me on campus and talked a lot about different things.
“Mitchell and I talked once and he likes it up there, too, which helped me as I was taking visits and making my decision,”
Beadles said the coaching staff planned to keep him at a linebacker position with a view to becoming a future starter for the team.
“The coaches want to keep me as an inside linebacker, either as a Mike or a Will,” Beadles said. “They weren’t sure yet when I went to visit earlier.
“They have one senior who will be graduating soon and the coaches said the hope to get me to a point where I can replace him in the future.”
The 2024 season will be the last for Wabash under current head coach Don Morel, who will step down after the year ends with Jake Gilbert coming in as an assistant this season before taking over the reins as head coach in 2025.
Beadles said Gilbert, who coached the South All-Star team at the North-South Game, was the kind of coach he was looking to work with at the collegiate level.
“When the All-Star list was announced, coach Gilbert called me to let me know that not only was he the South head coach this year but that he would be a coach at Wabash this year,” Beadles said. “We talked on the phone a couple times after that and later met him in person when I was on my second visit and he happened to be at a practice.
“He is a really good guy, knowledgeable and I am eager to get to learn under him. This year will be a good year with coach Morel in charge so coach Gilbert can get his footing and everything should go well when he takes over.”
Beadles, who plans to major in psychology with a minor in prelaw or sociology, said he expected the challenge that Wabash provided to be demanding but also worthwhile in the end.
“As Wabash is an all-male campus, it will be a little different socially,” Beadles said. “Academically, my studies will be a lot more intense as the school has many rigorous classes but Wabash degrees are also held in high standing, so there’s a reason the classes are harder.
“Football will be at another level of intensity and I can expect to be working a lot harder than in high school.”
Practices begin in a month’s time for Wabash with Beadles, after two all-star games this summer, eager to jump in and get to work.
“I move in on Aug. 12 and practices start Aug. 13,” Beadles said. “I’m pumped to get started.
“I like Wabash, the campus and the environment. It’s going to be refreshing step in my ability to grow and I’m really excited to get started.”