LA - college football player critical after hunting accident

Beckman hospitalized in critical condition

Monday, November 14, 2005
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer

RUSTON -- Tulane all-conference punter Chris Beckman was in a local hospital Sunday night after suffering a gunshot wound to the stomach in a hunting accident earlier in the day.

A spokeswoman with Lincoln General Hospital in Lincoln Parish said Beckman was listed in "critical but stable" condition and referred all questions concerning the incident to Tulane's Dennis Polian, director of football operations.

Efforts to reach Polian and Tulane coach Chris Scelfo on Sunday night were unsuccessful.

No other Tulane football players were with Beckman when the accident happened in the Ruston area.

Information on how the accident happened was not released by the hospital or Tulane University.

Tulane returned to Ruston on Saturday night after a 42-34 loss to Rice in Houston. The Green Wave, in the midst of a six-game losing streak, did not practice Sunday.

Beckman is a candidate for this year's Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation's most outstanding punter. He's averaging 40.9 yards punting this season and was coming off his best performance of the season, averaging 48 yards on five punts against Rice.

The junior from Granada, Miss., led Conference USA in punting last season with a 42.6-yard average. He was a first-team, all-conference selection last year and a second-team pick as a true freshman.

The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Beckman ranks sixth in punting average (42.4) on Tulane's all-time list and sixth in career punting yardage (7,214). He is seventh in punts with 170.

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Fred Robinson can be reached at frobinson@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3412.

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