RECORD BREAKING ARENA FOOTBALL PLAYER JOINS TEXAS COLLEGE AS ACTING HEAD COACH (2772 hits)
A native of Houston, TX, Blackshear spent his high school years at Houston’s Reagan High School. Following high school, Blackshear played collegiately at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX from 1987-1991 where he led the team in receiving during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Blackshear holds the Southwest Conference (SWC) and Texas Tech single-game record with 251 on only 5 catches against Houston. He was awarded the "Team MVP" honor in 1990 and "Team Leadership" honor in 1991. Blackshear was honored as a two-time All-SWC member from 90-91 as well as 3rd-Team Pre-Season All American in 91, and received invitations to the Blue-Gray Football Classic and the Japan Bowl in 1991. Blackshear was the first player to return a kickoff for a touchdown against the 12th Man kickoff unit of Texas A&M. The following season, the Aggies discontinued the longstanding tradition.
Professionally, Blackshear played seven seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) where he recorded 204 receptions for 2,482 yards and 45 receiving touchdowns in 52 games for the Houston Thunderbears. He ended his career as the All-Time tackles leader in Houston Thunderbears/Texas Terror team history with 129 total tackles. The 1998 All-Arena First Team Wide Receiver/Defensive Back (WR/DB) honoree ended his AFL career with the 2001 Arena Bowl Champion Grand Rapids Rampage. He was a nominee for the AFL 15 year anniversary team as a WR/DB. He has made an appearance with the NFL’s Miami Dolphin team during their 1992 season.
Collectively, Blackshear has coached eight years of arena football and three years collegiately. Blackshear began his coaching career as a student asst. coach at Texas Tech in 2002 before being offered the offensive coordinator at Harvest Christian High School in Fort Worth during the 2003 season. He was then the offensive coordinator for the Rio Grande Valley Dorados before spending a season as a WR Coach for the Houston Cougars. He became the head coach of the Centex Barracudas of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2006 before leading the Lubbock Renegades in 2007-2008. He coached the South Georgia Wildcats to an 11-5 record in 2009. Blackshear coached the IFL’s Abilene Ruff Riders following Head Coach Gerald Dockery’s departure in April 2010. The team won their first game of the season with Blackshear at the helm. Blackshear was named Head Coach of the Amarillo Venom of the IFL in November 2010. He was named head coach of the Mesquite Bandits of the Lone Star Football League in January 2012 but the team folded at the end of the month before playing a single game.
Blackshear has a daughter, Destinee, who is currently a senior at Arlington’s Grace Prep Academy.
About Texas College (TC)
Texas College is a historical black college founded in 1894, by a group of CME ministers. Our mission, which continues to embody the principles of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, is to ensure that the student body experiences balanced, intellectual, psychological, social and spiritual development, aimed at enabling them to become active productive members of society where they live and work. The College achieves this mission through the core values of Academic Excellence; Integrity; Perseverance; Social Responsibility; Tolerance; and Community Service. TC is led by its 23rd President Dr. Dwight Fennell. To learn more about Texas College, visit us on the web at www.texascollege.edu.
