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ULM Remembers Hall of Famer Jeff Blackshear

ULM Remembers Hall of Famer Jeff Blackshear

Football Sep 02
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

MONROE, La. – ULM L Club Hall of Famer Jeff Blackshear, one of the great offensive linemen in program history, died Saturday, Aug. 31 after a lengthy illness. Blackshear was 50. 

"He was an awesome player, an unbelievable specimen" said Tag Rome, an assistant coach when Blackshear played at ULM. "He was 6-7, 360. But you saw what a gentle giant he was as he grew up as a man. He was a real tender-hearted guy. Everybody liked him a lot."  

Blackshear returned to the ULM campus on Sept. 22, 2018, for his induction into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. He was an All-America player under former coach Dave Roberts from 1991-92 and spent nine seasons playing in the NFL. 

"I couldn't have picked a better school with the offense and the players that Coach Roberts had there," Blackshear said prior to his induction.

First diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2014, Blackshear's battle against the disease lasted more than five years. When he was contacted early in 2018 about his selection to ULM's Hall of Fame, Blackshear said, "This is good for my soul."

Blackshear was up front about his condition then and grateful that ULM thought enough of him to recognize him as an all-time great. 

"I'm not trying to keep it a secret," he said. "I want people to know. I want people to pray for me and my family. I'm still battling it. I get chemo three times a month and get a week off. Every Monday, and then a week off.

"(The induction) was really something I was looking forward too. I didn't want anything to happen to me where I was gone, and my wife and kids were there to accept the award."

Selected by Seattle in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, Blackshear played professionally from 1993 until 2002 with four teams, including the Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. He started 96 of his 128 NFL games and had a 57-game starting streak for the Ravens from 1996-99.

In 1992, Blackshear became a key cog in a powerhouse offense that piled up 4,985 yards and scored 388 points while claiming the Southland Conference Championship and finishing ranked No. 1 in the final regular-season poll. Blocking for future NFL running backs Roosevelt Potts and Greg Robinson, Blackshear was a first-team All-America guard by Kodak and NFL Draft Report and second-team selection by The Associated Press and Football Gazette.

"He was a natural pro," Rome said. "He played the guard position and nobody could handle him. He was a good teammate too. His teammates respected him." 
 
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