Houston Clear Lake offensive lineman Blake Blackmar accomplished a rare feat at the Class 5A level in the state of Texas when he started for the Falcons as a freshman two years ago. Now the 6-foot-6, 309-pound junior has turned into a legitimate college prospect.
Texas legacy Blake Blackmar took in a Texas A&M game this past weekend.
This past weekend he made his way to Texas A&M to watch the Aggies play LSU.
“They’ve basically invited me to almost all their home games this season,” Blackmar said of A&M. “At first I got the usual letters saying, ‘We want you to come to Kyle Field for this game,’ and stuff but two weeks ago I got a handwritten letter from coach (B.J.) Anderson saying, ‘You’re a very important prospect to us and we really want you to come out an experience game day at Kyle Field.’
“I was watching when the game started because if it was a late game I wouldn’t be able to go but if it was early I could. I got an email from A&M asking me to come so I did.”
Blackmar says he enjoyed the experience but he does not know where he stands in terms of a possible offer just yet.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to the staff very much on Saturday. I didn’t see coach Anderson until he found me on the sideline right before the game started. I called coach Anderson a few years days before I came and we talked some but not about an offer or anything.”
Blackmar admittedly had conflicting emotions while in College Station as he grew up a huge fan of the Texas Longhorns since his dad, Bruce Blackmar, played offensive guard for Texas in the early 80’s.
“It was really weird (watching A&M),” Blackmar said laughing. “Some of those songs they were singing, my natural instinct was to stop listening or get a little mad. That’s just normal I guess because I’ve been a UT fan all my life. The recruiting process is just strange though. My whole life I’ve been like, ‘I hate A&M. I hate Oklahoma,’ and now that I’m starting to get recruited it’s different. Oklahoma’s probably my No. 2 right now behind UT.”
After his top two of the Longhorns and Sooners, Blackmar has a tough time formulating the rest of his list.
“I always have a hard time ranking teams,” he said. “UT and Oklahoma are kind of my solid top two but after that I’m kind of really open. I’m starting to like Kansas State more and more and, with A&M, I’ve gotten a lot of good stuff from them. I just have a hard time ordering them though.
“Right now it’s still early in the recruiting process and I don’t want to rush into anything. I’m still doing all my research and exploring my options but I’d be thrilled if I got an offer (from A&M). My dad played at UT and everything but I’m pretty open. The one thing about Kyle Field is that there was great fan support.”
Though still awaiting the first offer, Blackmar has been receiving interest from quite a few SEC and Big 12 programs as well as some others from across the country.
“I don’t have any offers yet but I’m getting a lot of interest,” he said. “The ones showing the most interest would probably be Oklahoma, (Texas) Tech, A&M, UT, Kansas State, Baylor, Michigan, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Missouri and some others.”
In addition to this past weekend’s game, Blackmar has been to one other at an in-state school so far this fall and plans on making a trip to a Big 12 program this coming weekend.
“I went to the Texas Tech-West Virginia game and then I’m going to Oklahoma-Notre Dame this coming week,” he said. “We’re also looking at maybe going to a game around Thanksgiving but we haven’t worked out which game just yet.”
As for what he is looking for in a potential college destination, Blackmar has a few criteria.
“I’m looking at the coach,” he said. “I want the same coach all four years. That sort of goes for the head coach and o-line coach. I want someone I feel like I can work well with and that will get the best out of me. Academics are very important and so is tradition – a winning tradition and a good fanbase.”
- Brian Perroni
- National Recruiting Analyst - 247Sports