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TheGangGreen.com Fanatic
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Justin Blalock has Mangini guy written all over him! Read the article below from the Dallas Morning News. To view links in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. Your post count is 0 momentarily.
SAN ANTONIO – Kids who win science fairs and score 1120 on the SAT in seventh grade, who get invited to prestigious academic camps and play the tuba in their middle school band, aren't supposed to be the best player on the football team.
They're the ones football players beat up.
Then, there's Texas All-America offensive lineman Justin Blalock of Plano East, a soon-to-be NFL millionaire who at 6-4 and 335 pounds is proud to say he's a card-carrying geek.
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He crushes defenders, like the blitzing Southern Cal safety he flattened on Vince Young's touchdown run that clinched the national title last season. But ask Blalock about his career highlights and he includes his presentation on electromagnetism in eighth grade that won him a trip to Austin for the state science fair.
His 1120 SAT score in seventh grade landed him in an academic summer camp at the prestigious McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., whose alumni include media mogul Ted Turner. Blalock did so well at the camp, he was invited to attend the private, all-boys' institution for high school. One problem: no football team.
"I think people see the stereotypical offensive lineman as a big, uncoordinated mess who has trouble tying a shoe or walking through a room without stumbling over a piece of furniture," said Blalock, who possesses a wicked, dry sense of humor. "Most people think we're not bright because we've chosen a position where we basically push on another guy for three-plus hours every game."
This season, Blalock was a finalist for two of college football's top lineman honors – the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy. He can bench-press more than 500 pounds. He is projected as a first-round pick in April's NFL draft because he's so smart and athletic, he can play all three line positions – guard, tackle and center.
While you might expect a star football player to fail to mention he played tuba in the middle school band, Blalock embraces that fact. Last month at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Orlando, Fla., he proudly told television producers that he also played flute, trombone, drums and guitar.
"He's kind of a smart aleck," said Texas defensive tackle Frank Okam of Lake Highlands. "Justin's a quirky guy. He's always in a technology store, buying the latest electric toothbrush or some kind of weird alarm clock. It wouldn't surprise me if he had science magazines laying around his apartment."
In the locker room after practice, Blalock is likely to start talking to an unsuspecting teammate about the difference between nuclear fusion and fission, just to get under his skin.
"That's Justin," said senior defensive end Tim Crowder. "He's kind of proud to be a geek. When I first met him, I thought he was weird. Now, I know that's just Justin being Justin."
Texas coach Mack Brown joked that Blalock's intelligence can be intimidating. (At least he sounded as if he was joking.)
"Justin's mom is a Northwestern graduate, and he's definitely the philosophical one in the group," Brown said. "If you're sitting and talking to him at dinner, you wouldn't think he's one of the best linemen in the country and in the history of Texas football.
"He wouldn't even be talking about football. He'd be talking about world peace or the economy. I don't talk to him much because I don't want to get caught in a conversation and make him realize his coach's deficiencies."
Blalock's mother, Jackie Blalock Robinson, was the first person in her immediate family to graduate from college. After getting her degree from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, she worked as a reporter before going back to Northwestern for a graduate degree in marketing. She's now a program manager for Nortel Networks.
"From the time he was 8 or 9, Sunday school teachers would play games to get kids to learn stuff out of the Bible and Justin always won," his mother said. "So he was competitive as well as smart.
"Being the only child, he got lots of attention. I made certain we went to museums to make sure he knew learning could be fun as well as important."
Blalock hasn't allowed a sack in 27 games for Texas, which faces Iowa Saturday in the Alamo Bowl. Blalock has started a school-record 50 straight games. He started 44 straight at right tackle but was moved to right guard for the last six because of an injury to another lineman.
"He'll be on an NFL team for 12 or 13 years, and that team will take him for granted," said former Cowboys scouting director Gil Brandt, now the draft analyst for NFL.com. "He'll never cause you any problems because he's a great character guy.
"I think he can play center, guard, right tackle, maybe even left tackle. He's smart, athletic, strong, got great feet and works really hard. You don't start at the University of Texas for four years unless you're a special player."
Brown credits Blalock, senior center Lyle Sendlein and senior left guard Kasey Studdard with helping change the Longhorns' reputation while winning the national title over the past five years.
"They helped us get away from a soft label, being able to run the ball against anybody, being great protectors and great leaders," Brown said. "Their toughness will be the hardest thing we have to replace next year. We have some young linemen who will really have to step up to continue to be as physical as those guys."
Blalock takes pride in Texas' success and says he hopes other pocket protectors (hulking linemen) won't be afraid to embrace their inner geek.
"I know people think most of us big guys lift weights all day and are some kind of meathead," Blalock said. "I'm trying to dispel that. That's my real goal in life."
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JUSTIN BLALOCK
School: Texas
Pos.: Offensive lineman
Ht.-Wt.: 6-4, 335
Class: Senior
High school: Plano East
Notable: Blalock and DT Derek Lokey of Denton Ryan are the strongest players on the Texas team. Both bench-press 515 pounds. ... Of Texas' 23 rushing TDs this season, 17 have been behind Blalock. ... Graduated Dec. 9 with a degree in youth and community studies and a minor in business. ... Chose Texas over Michigan, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, UCLA and Florida. ... Scored a 1280 on his SAT. ... Was one of five finalists in 2002 for the Watkins Award, presented to the nation's top black high school scholar-athletes. ... Also played basketball and hockey (goalie) growing up. ... Blalock had never been injured in football before a knee strain against Kansas State on Nov. 11 caused him to leave the game in the second half.
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