Todd Blackledge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Todd Blackledge | |
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| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 14 |
| Born: February 25, 1961 Canton, Ohio |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1983–1989 | |
| NFL Draft: 1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7 | |
| College: Penn State | |
| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 29-38 |
| Yards | 5,286 |
| QB Rating | 60.2 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Todd Alan Blackledge (February 25, 1961 in Canton, Ohio) was a three-year starter at Penn State, where he guided the Nittany Lions to 31-5 record including a national championship in 1982. Following the 1982 season, he won the Davey O'Brien Award for best quarterback in the nation. In 1983, he was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for five seasons (1983-87) before ending his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1988-89). Blackledge's NFL career was decidedly less successful than his college experience, a fact magnified by the impressive quarterback class in the 1983 NFL Draft, including legendary signal-callers such as John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.
Blackledge went on to host radio sports-talk shows in Cleveland (WKNR) and Canton, Ohio (WHBC). He also did analyst work for the Big East Network, Indianapolis Colts preseason games, and ESPN.
From 1994-98, he worked as a college football analyst for ABC Sports. In 1999, Blackledge joined CBS Sports as the lead analyst for the network's college football coverage. In 2006, he began serving on the first team alongside Mike Patrick for ESPN College Football Primetime on ESPN.
[edit] Personal
Blackledge lives in Canton, with his wife, Cherie, and their four children.
Blackledge earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from Penn State in 1983, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a 3.8 grade point average. Named a first team Academic All-American, he was also awarded the Eric Walker Award, given to the Penn State senior student who has most “enhanced the esteem and recognition of the University.” Blackledge was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1997. He sits on the Board of Visitors for Penn State’s Center for Sports Journalism.[1]
Blackledge was selected to receive the prestigious 2008 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, recognizing former student-athletes who excelled both in their collegiate and professional careers.[1]
In April 2008, Blackledge and seven other former NFL players traveled to the Middle East to visit with troops and coach them in the USO's Operation Gridiron: Huddle with the Troops, a flag football tournament for service personnel serving overseas.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Blackledge to receive prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. Penn State Department of Sports Information.
- ^ Former Penn State football players on USO tour to Middle East. The Pennsylvania State University Department of Public Information (2008-03-31). Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
| Preceded by Jim McMahon |
Davey O'Brien Award Winner 1982 |
Succeeded by Steve Young |
| Preceded by Dayle Tate |
Penn State Starting Quarterback 1980-1981 |
Succeeded by Doug Strang |
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