Justin Christopher Blalock (born December 20, 1983) is a former American football offensive guard who played eight seasons with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the National Football League (NFL). 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 ...

for the University of Texas, where he earned All-American honors. The Falcons chose him in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Early years

Blalock was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended Plano East Senior High School in the Dallas suburb of Plano. He was three-year starter at offensive guard, but also saw playing time at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. As a sophomore in 1999, Blalock was named second-team all-district after recording 151

pancake block The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

s, as he helped lead Plano East to an 11–3 record and the Texas 5A Division II state quarterfinals that season. The offensive lineman was named all-district and all-area as a junior after registering 130 knockdowns. In 2001, Blalock posted 134 knockdown blocks, did not allow a sack and opened holes for an offense that averaged nearly 300 rushing yards per game. His top game of season was a 21-pancake performance vs. Plano Senior High School. Blalock was also an outstanding track and field athlete in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and discus throw, where he was selected all-state. He captured the Region II-5A shot put title with a toss of 58-8½ in 2002 and finished fourth (55-2½) at the 2002 UIL Championships (Class 5A). He also registered the third-best throw (63-2½ or 19.28m) in the state as a senior (all classes) and placed fifth in the shot (61-6) at the 1999 Texas 5A Championships. Blalock was selected to play in the 2002

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

. He also earned first-team All-American honors from '' USA Today'' as a senior, and was also a first-team Class 5A All-State, all-area and all-district selection. The ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' rated him as the nation's top offensive lineman prospect as well as the No. 15 high school prospect overall.

College career

Blalock attended the University of Texas, where he played for coach

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...

's Texas Longhorns football team from 2002 to 2006. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Blalock started all 13 games at right tackle and was named first-team Freshman All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and The Sporting News. He also started all 12 games his sophomore year at right tackle and was named first-team All-Big 12 by the Big 12 coaches and the Austin American-Statesman. Blalock again manned the right tackle position in 2004. He was chosen first-team All-Big 12 Conference by the league's coaches and the Austin American-Statesman, adding second-team accolades from The Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and San Antonio Express-News. He led an offensive line that cleared the way for Texas to rank second in the nation in rushing (299.2 ypg), seventh in total offense (464.4 ypg) and 12th in scoring (35.3 ppg). Texas' 3,590 rushing yards that season was the third-highest total in school history. As a junior in 2005, he again started all 13 games at right tackle and was named All-America by College Football News and a third-team All-America by The Associated Press. Also named first-team All-Big 12 by The Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, Big 12 Coaches, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Kansas City Star. He was part of the NCAA National Championship Football team and contributed to the now legendary victory at The Rose Bowl in January 2006. As a senior during 2006 Blalock was voted team captain and continued to lead the Texas Longhorns in exemplary leadership and athletic consistency. He was a unanimous All-America All-America choice in 2006. On November 24, 2006, Blalock became the first Longhorn in school history to start 50 consecutive games. An excellent student, Blalock was a member of the UT Athletics Director's Honor Roll in fall 2004. He was also one of five finalists for the 2002 Watkins Award, which is presented to the nation's top African-American high school scholar-athlete. Blalock graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in December 2006 with his degree in youth and community studies and a minor in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

Professional career

Blalock scored a 41 on the Wonderlic, the highest score of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was one of seven Longhorns selected by professional football teams in the draft. The others were Michael Griffin (number 19 overall),

Aaron Ross Aaron Jermaine Ross (born September 15, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He won Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI with the Giants, twice over t ...

(number 20 overall), Tim Crowder (number 56 overall),

Brian Robison Brian Gale Robison (born April 27, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played for the team for 11 seasons. In 173 NFL games, he recorded 289 ta ...

(number 102 overall), Tarell Brown (number 147 overall), Kasey Studdard (number 183 overall).

Lyle Sendlein Lyle Sendlein (born March 16, 1984) is a former American football center. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Texas. Early years Coached by Ron Estabrook at Chaparral High Sch ...

and Selvin Young were not drafted but signed with NFL teams as free agents. On July 31, 2011, Blalock agreed to a six-year contract extension with the Falcons. On February 27, 2015, Blalock was released by the Falcons becoming a free agent. On June 15, 2015, Blalock retired.

Personal life

Blalock resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is active in community service projects. He is a cousin of New Orleans Saints center Jonathan Goodwin and NFL coach Harold Goodwin. He is also a cousin of Aubrey Gibson, shareholder/partner at the law firm

Polsinelli Polsinelli is an AmLaw 100 firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 23 offices nationwide. History Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 23 offices nationwide. The firm’s attorneys focus on health care, finance, r ...

and Kourtney Gibson, president of Loop Capital.

References

External links