Blake David Annen (born May 28, 1991) is 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 ...

coach and former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

and attended

Upper Arlington High School Upper Arlington High School is the sole high school in the Upper Arlington City School District in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a northwest suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It receives students from Jones Middle School and Hastings Middle School. The current ...

Upper Arlington, Ohio Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

. He has been a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Annen played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Upper Arlington High School Golden Bears in

. He helped the Golden Bears win the

Ohio Capital Conference The Ohio Capital Conference is a high school athletic conference located in Central Ohio. It comprises 32 public high schools located primarily in suburban Columbus, Ohio, encompassing Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, and Union counties. ...

Central Division Championship in 2008. He recorded 30 receptions for 800 yards and 12 touchdowns in his high school career. He was named the top tight end in the state by OhioVarsity.com.

College career

Annen played for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

from 2009 to 2013. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2009.

Professional career

Annen ran his 40-yard dash time at 4.41 seconds at Cincinnati's 2014

Pro Day The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

in addition to posting 25 reps on the bench press, which ultimately made him a priority UDFA.

Philadelphia Eagles

Annen signed with the

on May 10, 2014 after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was released by the Eagles on August 23, 2014.

Chicago Bears

Annen was signed to the

' practice squad on September 18, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 8, 2014. He made his NFL debut on November 23, 2014 against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. Annen was released by the Bears on September 2, 2015.

New Orleans Saints

On September 7, 2015, the

signed Annen to their practice squad. On September 15, 2015, he was released by the Saints.

Green Bay Packers

On September 30, 2015, the

signed Annen to their practice squad. On October 16, 2015, he was released by the Packers.

Buffalo Bills

On December 15, 2015, the

signed Annen to their practice squad. He was waived/injured by the Bills on September 2, 2016 and was placed on injured reserve after clearing waivers. On June 13, 2017, Annen was waived by the Bills.

Post-playing career

In 2018, Annen was hired as the head football coach at Carmel High School. As assistant coaches, he hired former Bears Johnny Knox and

Nathan Vasher Nathaniel DeWayne Vasher (born November 17, 1981) is a former American football cornerback who played seven seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at Texas and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of ...

; the three had worked together at EFT Football Academy in

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in the southeastern part of Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located o ...

. In Annen's first year, the Corsairs improved from their 1–8 record in 2017 to 4–5. Another ex-Bear in

Jason McKie Jason A. McKie (born May 22, 1980 in Gulf Breeze, Florida) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Te ...

became running backs coach in 2019. Annen resigned in October to return to his family in Ohio.

References

External links

NFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Annen, Blake Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Ohio People from Upper Arlington, Ohio American football tight ends Cincinnati Bearcats football players Philadelphia Eagles players Chicago Bears players New Orleans Saints players Green Bay Packers players Buffalo Bills players