Pittsburgh linebacker H.B. Blades (Son of former NFL player Bennie Blades, nephew of former NFL player Brian) checked in at 5-10 and 236 pounds of Saturday. The standout linebacker addressed the media for the first time in Indianapolis.
WHY DID HE GO TO PITT INSTEAD OF MIAMI, WHERE HIS FATHER AND UNCLES PLAYED?
“I just wanted to start a legacy of my own. My father and my uncles went to
Miami and played a part in building that program from the ground up … but I just
felt like the University of Pittsburgh was the place for me because it fit my
personality – blue collar and bring your hard hat to work.”
HOW DID HIS FATHER TAKE THE NEWS WHEN HE DECIDED TO GO TO PITT?
“It was tough for my family. I’m the first in my family to ever leave the state
to go to school … so of course I was nervous at first. After they saw me doing
well during my true freshman year, everything was all right after that.”
PLAN ON WORKING OUT HERE?
“I tweaked my hamstring on Thursday working on my starts, so I’m going to see
how that feels on Monday. I’m going to lift definitely, but on the running I’m
going to wait and see how it feels.”
WHAT DOES HE NEED TO WORK ON?
“I have to work on every aspect of my game and get better as an overall football
player. The guys that are already there, they’re trying to keep their jobs. They
don’t want me to come in and take their jobs, so I have to keep working hard at
every aspect of my game.”
WHAT ADVICE DID COACH DAVE WANNSTEDT GIVE HIM ABOUT THE NFL?
“Coach Wannstedt just told me not to stress about things that I have no control
over. I can’t control that I’m short. God made me this tall and this is what I
am. What I can control is how hard I work and how hard I play and the intensity
that I bring to the game.”
YOUR DAD PLAYED SAFETY AND WAS ABOUT YOUR SAME SIZE, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT
THAT?
“No, I haven’t really thought about that. Like I said before, it’s something I
really can’t control. I’m this size. Zach Thomas is around my size, London Fletcher is around my size and those guys have been pretty successful and have
opened the door for linebackers like myself … to get a little more attention.”
HOW OFTEN WOULD WANNSTEDT MENTION HIS FATHER SINCE HE COACHED HIM AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI?
“He’d talked about it a little bit because you see some similarities. We
look the same … and our styles of play are kind of similar. We’re both very
physical. My dad was a little more athletic than I was, which is why he played
safety. He was a big guy and he was a physical guy and I’m physical myself even
though I’m one of the smaller linebackers we have coming out this year.”
HOW MUCH DID WANNSTEDT MENTION ZACH THOMAS?
“A lot. I watched a lot of film of Zach. I admire the way he plays – his
intensity and his heart. He takes on 350 pounders at his size. He goes out and
plays banged up and leaves his heart on the field, so I learned a lot just by
watching film of him.”
WHAT ARE THE FAMILY FOOTBALL GAMES LIKE IN THE BLADES HOUSE?
“When we get together, we don’t talk about football much. We just talk about
family. I have twin girls (two years old), so when my dad calls me he wants to
know how his granddaughters are doing more than anything else. Football comes
second when it comes to that. He asks me how I’m doing and how my body is doing.
He wants to make sure that I do everything possible to make sure that I’m one of
the best linebackers in the draft.”
DOES HAVING TWO DAUGHTERS MAKE YOU TAKE YOUR JOB OF PLAYING FOOTBALL MORE
SERIOUS?
“It makes it a lot more serious. I’ve been playing this game since I was six
years old, so the love has always been there. But when you’re responsible for
two other lives, it makes it that much bigger and it makes it even that more
special when I can come up here and do things like this. Not too many people get
a chance to do this and get an opportunity to be financially stable. Having a
family makes me work even harder.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE HAVING BEEN AROUND THE GAME YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?
“I’ve been around the game my whole life and have been in and out of locker
rooms and seen players like Dan Morgan, Barry Sanders and how they carried
themselves. I don’t make complaints about how tall I am or how big I am. I’m
going to go out there and sacrifice my body for my teammates.”
WHERE DOES THE PASSION FOR THE GAME COME FROM?
“I think it’s something you’re born with. Some people have that desire, that
heart and that drive and some people just don’t. It doesn’t matter how big you
are, to me it’s how big your heart is out there on the field.”
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT BEING IN THE LOCKER ROOM IN DETROIT?
“I remember it a lot. I used to sit at my dad’s locker as they’d go into
meetings. I remember Chris Spielman’s locker was of the messiest I’ve ever
seen. Also Barry Sanders and the way he carried himself off the field and on the
field. He was a great sportsman. Just sitting back and watching all those guys,
I got to learn a lot.”
HOW FRUSTRATING WAS IT THAT PITT STRUGGLED THE LAST TWO YEARS AFTER BEING IN
A BCS BOWL GAME AS A SOPHOMORE?
“Personally, it was heartbreaking. You play this game to win, especially as much
as you put into it through spring ball and winter conditioning and the summer
camp, then to go .500 or don’t even make a bowl game, it’s heartbreaking. It was
one of those things that just happened. There was adversity, so I appreciate
things a little bit more when they happen. We went to the BCS game my sophomore
and then we got kind of complacent. It was one of those things where we had guys
that weren’t thinking about the games. They were thinking about what they were
going to do after college football.”
WHO HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?
“The biggest influence on me was my uncle Al. Al Blades, he played down at the
University of Miami with Santana (Moss) and Dan (Morgan). I used to spend every
summer down there with those guys and being around (Al) just made me a better
person. He died in a car accident (March, 2003) right before I went to the
University of Pittsburgh. He’s actually the only one in my family that told me
to leave (Florida). He supported me in everything I did in life and his memory
is still with me. I thought it was a sign of good luck when I came (to the
scouting combine) with the number seven. I was like, ‘He’s taking care of me
right now,’ because that’s the number he wore in college, so I know he’s looking
down on me right now.”
WHY DID HIS UNCLE AL TELL HIM TO GO TO LEAVE FLORIDA?
“Just so I could start a legacy of my own. It was hard for him down at the
University of Miami playing safety after my dad was down there. It was kind of
hard for him, so he wanted me to leave to make a name for myself and that was my
goal to try to be the best linebacker at the university I attended.”
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAUL RHOADS AND CURTIS BRAY?
"Coach Rhoads is very intense. He will be there for us, he will cry with us,
he will make you want to play for him. Coach Bray was more humble and laid
back."
YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED A REPUTATION AS THE TEAM LEADER AND A TIRELESS
WORKER. WHO DO YOU THINK WILL CARRY ON YOUR LEGACY NOW?
"Scott McKillop is my roommate and we have done everything together. I think
he'll take over and become the leader of the defense."
|