The UNC football team will wrap up another tough season Saturday afternoon. One Bears player, though, will end his college football career happy for the experience and without regret. Garrett Bean, a 24-year-old defensive lineman from Eaton and Eaton High School, will play his final football game this weekend when UNC hosts Portland State.
Bean, a graduate student in his sixth season of college football, will be among the players honored for senior day Saturday. The game begins at noon Saturday at Nottingham Field in Greeley. The Bears are aiming to end a five-game losing streak with a win in the last game.
Wednesday was Bean’s last practice in pads. He said it was a bittersweet experience but satisfying.
“I definitely feel complete,” Bean said, adding he encourages college athletes to use an extra year of eligibility if they can. “There are a lot of kids who would kill for an extra year. I just wanted to do this thing with no regrets, no matter how it turned out, and I felt like I did that.” University of Northern Colorado football Garrett Bean, a graduate student and defensive lineman for the Bears in 2025, goes thrill drills on a UNC practice field. Bean, who is from Eaton and played football at Eaton High School, is in his sixth and final collegiate season. Bean is preparing for his final college game when UNC hosts Portland State in the last game of the 2025 season Saturday, Nov. 22 at Nottingham Field in Greeley. (Courtesy/Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics)
Bean went to Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, out of Eaton in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. All college athletes earned an extra season during the pandemic. Bean benefitted from a COVID year and a redshirt season, which gives college athletes five years to play four seasons.
Receiving little interest out of high school, where he played two full seasons of varsity football, Bean went to Doane because it gave him the best financial package. He played three seasons with the Tigers, an NAIA program. NAIA schools have smaller athletics programs than schools in the NCAA.
Bean said he enjoyed his time at Doane, but he wanted to find a football program with a different culture. He also wanted to test himself at the Division I level. Bean came to UNC in 2023, around the same time Ed Lamb started as head coach.
“I just wanted to test myself and see how far I could go, really,” Bean said. “I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. But I was ready for that.” University of Northern Colorado football player Garrett Bean raises his arms in celebration during a Big Sky Conference game against Weber State University in October 2024 in Ogden, Utah. UNC beat Weber State 21-17 for the Bears' first Big Sky Conference win under head coach Ed Lamb. Bean, who is from Eaton, is a graduate student in his sixth and final collegiate football season in 2025. (Courtesy/Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics).
Bean has learned a couple of things about himself since he took on the personal test of playing Division I football. He found out that, though undersized, he could play against any opponent. He also realized he didn’t want to live with the regret of not trying.
Bean is 6-foot-1 and about 270 pounds, which is undersized for a defensive lineman. He hasn’t played a lot at UNC. The team hasn’t won a lot since he’s been at UNC. But still, Bean has no second thoughts about his experience.
“If I didn’t come here, I would’ve never known how good I really could’ve been,” he said. “I would have never known if I didn’t test myself.”
Bean’s father, Todd, who is from Greeley and Greeley West High School, was an offensive lineman at Colorado State from 1987-90. Bean’s parents, his brother and his sister will be at the Portland State game this weekend.
Lamb, now in his third season at UNC, said Bean is a glue player for not only the defensive line but for many of Bean’s teammates.
“No player has made a bigger impact on our culture than Garrett Bean,” Lamb said.
University of Northern Colorado football player Garrett Bean at UNC's Nottingham Field in Greeley. Bean is a graduate student defensive lineman in his sixth and final year of college football as the Bears prepare for their final game of the 2025 season Saturday, Nov. 22 against Portland State. Bean is from Eaton and played high school football at Eaton High. (Courtesy/Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics).Bean works every day as a member of the team, Lamb explained. He said Bean came to UNC because Bean was looking for a place where there was a different level of commitment and work in the program.
“He came in and he set the standard from Day 1,” Lamb continued. “He shows up every day with a great attitude, no matter where he is on the depth chart, whether he’s playing in the game or not playing in the game. Whether he’s on the travel squad or not, he shows up like a true professional every day.”
Bean’s family has an approximately 400-acre farm near Eaton, and the farm has a pond. The pond has become a popular place for UNC players to fish. Teammates often ask Bean to go to the pond. For some of the guys, the pond is where they fished for the first time.
“Just seeing them catch a fish for the first time, and they’re just grinning cheek to cheek — yeah, it’s pretty awesome,” Bean said.
Bean’s parents welcome the players. Garrett said his father loves being around the guys, and the Beans are certainly prepared to feed their guests too.
“A healthy amount of barbecue,” Bean said.
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