After a couple of days reflection re: Beau, and hearing all the comments from Willie, Piles, Ben, this board... I see a lot of negative overreaction.
So what has Beau shown?
The good: Technically he looks rock solid in all three positions. His neutral defense is very strong, he is rarely out of position. He has demonstrated that he can ride really well from on top.
The opportunity areas: There is a general consensus he is too small. Granted most 149s are walking around in the high 150s Beau looks ok to me and less small than Mark Hall looked against most openents. Sure there will be a length penalty against some kids but I don't think his size alone keeps him out of an AA conversation come March. His lack of size is being overblown, with it all to easy for pundits to assume a 141 up at 149 is physically overmatched every match.
Getting out from bottom. He has show consistently he can get to his feet which is the most important part. He has some work to do getting out from there, especially making moves durning mat returns. I would love to see him throw in a power switch or a grandbaby roll here or there get creative.
On top he can ride as noted potentially, but he needs a good amount of work on his offense. Once he breaks kids down if he had one or two go to turning combinations it will help him break matches open a little.
From neutral is where his performance this year (or lack thereof) has surprised the most. If you followed his HS career he was much more aggressive, fast on his feet and productive. I know he had the neutral game and believe he simply needs to build confidence to let it fly against stronger talent. He is giving his openents at this level just a bit too much respect, knowing that his neutral defense will carry him through. Ultimately this results in to many close matches which can be lost against more elite kids.
So what does all this mean? My eyes tell me much of the issue is between the two ears and will correct in the next few months.
I remain bullish for Beau to deliver significant points at 149 this season. I think a couple of close losses against top 10-15 guys will help him develop as well.
If he is still winning 1 point matches against top 20-30 guys in January I'll eat my hat.