William Herman Blackwell Jr. (born July 9, 1975) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Blackwell was picked in the second round of the

1997 NFL draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

with high expectations based on his successful career at San Diego State University, but he played sparingly in five years in the NFL. He now coaches the Skyline High School football team in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

College

Blackwell decided to attend San Diego State University. Blackwell was WAC freshman of the year in 1994. Blackwell was Individual Statistical Leader with 86 catches and 1206 yards. Blackwell was coached by Dino Babers and Curtis Johnson. Blackwell was a 1000-yard receiver in 1996. Blackwell's combine results were enough to get him to the NFL. Blackwell was Freshman of the year, 1994 and first team

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

in 1995 and 1996.

College stats

Receiving and Rushing Scoring

NFL

Career stats

Blackwell was part of The Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, an annual program administered by the NFL Management Council and NFL Player. Blackwell was one of four interns hand picked. Blackwell was only one of five Steelers to have returned kickoffs for touchdowns ( JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2017, Antonio Brown in 2010,

Allen Rossum Allen Bonshaca Lamont Rossum (born October 22, 1975) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. R ...

in 2007, Antwaan Randle El in 2002 and Will Blackwell in 2000). In 2001, Blackwell reinjured his left knee in Pittsburgh's 21-3 loss to Jacksonville. Coach Bill Cowher said Blackwell, who missed the first half of last year with a knee injury. Blackwell along with four other LSU players were released August 28, 2012 in the first round of major cuts. Blackwell spent one month with the St Louis Rams and was cut August 31, 2002.

Personal life

Blackwell lives in California. Blackwell works for Oakland Unified School District. He is a Receiver Coach, Restorative Practice Facilitator and Assistant Athletic Director for McClymonds High School. Blackwell also is the Head Coach for Varsity Baseball and a Community relations liaison. Blackwell is the African American Male Achievement Program Manager helping Oakland’s public schools fight to save black boys.

References

__FORCETOC__ 1975 births Living people American football return specialists American football wide receivers Pittsburgh Steelers players San Diego State Aztecs football players Skyline High School (Oakland, California) alumni High school football coaches in California Players of American football from Texarkana, Texas {{widereceiver-1970s-stub