Alphonso Blades (March 19, 1977 – March 20, 2003) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who went to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. He was selected as a first-team All-Big East player at Miami. He spent two years with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. In March 2003, he was the passenger of former

Plantation High School Plantation High School (commonly referred to as PHS) is a high school located in Plantation, Florida, part of the Broward County Public Schools district. As of 2022, the school serves 1,931 students in grades 9 through 12. It was originally loca ...

teammate Martel Johnson who was driving Blades' 1999

Mazda Millenia The Mazda Millenia is an automobile which was manufactured by Mazda in Japan from 1993 to 2002. The Millenia was originally planned as the second of three models for Mazda's proposed luxury brand Amati. As the company's dwindling finances caused ...

when it hit another car which they were racing. Both died in the crash.

Early years

Blades attended

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. In 1996, he sat out the season with a medical redshirt. In 1997, he suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first fall practice. As a sophomore in 1998, he started 7 games and was fourth on the team with 82 tackles. He had a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. As a junior in 1999, he was named the starter at free safety, registering 89 tackles (third on the team). He had 13 tackles against

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. He made 20 tackles against

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. As a senior in 2000, he contributed to the team's 11-1 record. He posted 87 tackles (second on the team). He was named the National Defensive Player of the Week for his 16 tackle performance against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He had 17 tackles in the 2000 Orange Bowl. He finished his career with 258 tackles (125 solos), 2 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions, 10 passes defensed and 4 fumble recoveries.

Professional career

Blades was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

on April 25. He was waived on September 4. He was signed to the practice squad on September 5. He was promoted to the active roster on September 12. He was released on September 1, 2002.

Personal life

Al Blades was the younger brother of former

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

wide receiver

Brian Blades Brian Keith Blades (born July 24, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Blades graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida ...

and former

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

safety

Bennie Blades Horatio Benedict "Bennie" Blades Sr. (born September 3, 1966) is a former American football cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami. College career Blades played a big ...

, and uncle of H. B. Blades, who played 4 seasons for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the NFL as well. His son, Alphonso Blades II (Al Blades Jr.) is currently in the portal awaiting transfer from the University of Miami as a cornerback. The younger Blades originally verbally committed to play with the Hurricanes in 2015, then later withdrew his commitment only to later recommit in 2017. He announced his intent to transfer on Dec 1, 2022 after a 5-7 season with first-year coach Mario Cristobal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blades, Al 1977 births 2003 deaths American football safeties Miami Hurricanes football players San Francisco 49ers players Road incident deaths in Florida Players of American football from Miami Plantation High School alumni