WARWICK — Watching Will Blackmon standing in the middle of the Hendricken football field over the weekend, it was hard to believe it will be 15 years ago this fall when I was watching him perform on that same field for the Hendricken football team. It was Saturday afternoon and Blackmon was standing among 50 or 60 football players between the ages of 11-14 who were taking part in a free clinic that Blackmon was conducting in conjunction with the NFL Foundation. There had been more than 100 players ages 7-10 at another session. On Thursday he will be at the opening day of training camp for the Washington Redskins. It will mark the start of Blackmon’s 10th season as an NFL player. He’s 31 now, married with two children, and just bought a home in California. So it would have been easy for Blackmon to have found reasons why he couldn’t be in Rhode Island last weekend. But he was there and I wasn’t surprised. It was a little over four years ago that I was with Blackmon at a Providence middle school where he had come to talk to students a few weeks after he had helped the New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012. It was the same middle school he had attended when he was growing up in Providence. “One thing my dad instilled in me was don’t forget the people who supported you and realized what you had,” Blackmon told me that day. That’s why Blackmon was back in Rhode Island last weekend. He may play in the nation’s capital and he may live with his family in California, but his roots were nurtured in Providence and Cranston, where he lived, and at Hendricken, where he attended high school. Back in 2001, when Blackmon was playing his senior year at Hendricken, even the most devoted Hawks fan couldn’t have imagined that one day Blackmon would be getting ready for his 10th year in the NFL. Sure he was a great running back with explosive speed. Yes, he had already committed to Boston College before he even started his senior season in high school. But the difference between a high school superstar and a 10-year NFL veteran is more than just years. After all, how many graduates of a Rhode Island high school have played 10 years in the NFL? There was Cranston West grad Mark van Eeghen, who spent 10 years with the Raiders and Patriots; Tolman’s Gerry Philbin won a Super Bowl with the Jets and the late Hendricken grad Steve Furness, won four Super Bowl rings with the Steelers. I may have missed somebody, but it’s a safe bet you don’t need more than the fingers on one hand to count the Rhode Island-born 10-year NFL veterans.Of course it’s about talent, but it’s also about fortitude and character. For Blackmon the foundation for those qualities was laid in Rhode Island. He went from Hendricken to Boston College, where enjoyed an outstanding career, especially as a kickoff and punt returner. He was drafted by Green Bay in the fourth round in 2006 and played four seasons for the Packers as both a returner and defensive back, including the 2008 season when he was one of the top returners in the NFL. Leg injuries have stymied his career at times, but never eroded his resolve. He spent time with the Giants, Seattle and Jacksonville as a defensive back after being released by the Packers in 2010. It has been a journey that definitely tested his fortitude. He missed an entire season because of an injury. It also has been a journey filled with roadblocks that might have stopped a lesser man. But Blackmon persevered. Now he is in one of the most stable situations of his career. He was signed by the Redskins early last season. In his Washington debut in Week Two, he only played five defensive snaps. By the end of the season, however, he had worked his way into a starting role at cornerback and became one of the team’s most consistent defensive players. In March, he signed a two-year contract with Washington. Reports were that the Washington coaching staff liked his versatility. This offseason he worked out at safety. Now, he’s ready for another season. “I’m feeling awesome,” Blackmon said. He said he’s excited about seeing playing time at safety. One more way to prove his value to his team; one more way for him to demonstrate those qualities of personal character, determination and fortitude we first saw on Rhode Island high school football fields nearly two decades ago. But before his focus turned to the NFL, he was back home for a day demonstrating football drills and serving as an example to young Rhode Islanders, showing them that character and hard work have to be part of the equation no matter how much talent you have. “He loves being here in Rhode Island and working with these kids,” said Will's father Wayne Blackmon, who raised Will and his two other children as a single parent after his wife died when Will was only 6 years old. Rhode Island loves to have him, even if it was only for a day. — jgillool@providencejournal.com
