The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorn Spotlight: Blake Gideon
10.20.2011 | Football
Oct. 20, 2011
Jackie LaPenta, Texas Media Relations
Football is not just a game in Texas. It has transcended beyond the end zone and has become embedded into the culture and ideals that form the Lone Star State. In all levels of the sport, Texas has formed some of the strongest programs and has notoriously produced many of the nation's top recruits.
Longhorns senior safety Blake Gideon is no stranger to this concept as he has done his fair share of Texas living. Gideon moved to five different towns by the age of 11 including Comanche, Groesbeck, Munday, Midland and Athens before settling down in Leander just northwest of Austin.
"My dad was a high school football coach, so we moved around, probably every two years, from the time I was born until about sixth grade," Gideon said. "It was tough as a young kid, because you have to leave all your friends and go to a new place, which is always scary."
Gideon's father, Steve, who played cornerback at Stephen F. Austin University, coached high school football in Texas for many years before retiring this past season. He spent the last decade at Leander where he had the opportunity to coach his only son.
"I look at it as blessing more than anything for my dad being the coach," Gideon said. "I am able to take coaching well, and it has shaped me into the person that I am today."
"I probably didn't like it as much as I was playing for him, just because it was constant pressure. I would look at all my friends and their lives and a lot of their dads didn't know if they were doing good or bad on the football team, and I was having to come home everyday and answer for my actions on the practice field."
Gideon's strong football foundation landed him a starting job on the Longhorns roster where the three-time honorable mention All-Big 12 selection has consistently proved himself as one of the nation's top defenders. His efforts were recognized after being named to the 2011 Thorpe Award watch list, an award which recognizes the best defensive back in college football.
"It is an honor to be recognized as one of the top [defensive backs] in the nation," Gideon said.
The commentators for the Longhorns Spanish radio network noted that Gideon's aggressive style of play, which inspired this nomination, speaks highly of his life passions off the field.
"I'm called 'El Cazador' which means 'The Hunter' in Spanish," Gideon explained. "It was explained to me, by [Dr. Ruben Pizarro] who gave me the nickname on Spanish radio, that I always hunt the ball and I hunt receivers, which ties in to me being an actual hunter outside of football."
Gideon was introduced to hunting at a young age and has acquired an impressive collection of mounts through his hunting adventures around the state.
"My family owns a ranch, and I have been hunting ever since I could hold a gun," Gideon said. "I pretty much hunt anything and everything that can move in Texas and is legal to hunt. I've shot birds, deer, wild hogs, anything they have on exotic ranches in South Texas like nilgai, and any kind of varmints."
Despite his love for hunting, Gideon also exposed his soft side for animals, in particular with his two dogs.
"I have a chocolate lab that I got when I was in high school," Gideon said. "We decided to get really country with it and name her 'Tater'."
"My sister got a golden retriever-chow mix that they were giving away in a parking lot. She brought the little dog home, and then she left for college and I adopted her. Her name is 'Lady', because she looks like the dog from Lady and the Tramp."
As Gideon's senior season comes to a close, he looks toward the future and the different avenues he can take with his studies in physical culture and sport.
"I want to coach at the college level when it's all said and done," Gideon said. "It's what I love. It's what I grew up around and what I am comfortable in. I feel like I have something to offer in that profession."
