View source for Todd Blackledge

{{Short description|American football player (born 1961)}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Todd Blackledge
| image       =
| position    = [[Quarterback]]
| number      = 14
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1961|2|25}}
| birth_place = [[Canton, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date  = 
| draftyear   = 1983
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 7
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 3
| weight_lbs  = 225
| high_school = [[Hoover High School (Ohio)|Hoover]] ([[North Canton, Ohio]])
| college     = [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]] (1979–1982)
| teams       =
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ([[1983 NFL season|1983]]–[[1987 NFL season|1987]])
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] ([[1988 NFL season|1988]]–[[1989 NFL season|1989]])
| highlights  =
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|1982]])
* [[Davey O'Brien Award]] (1982)
* First-team All-[[Big East Conference|East]] ([[1982 All-East football team|1982]])
| statlabel1  = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue1  = 29–38
| statlabel2  = [[Passing yards]]
| statvalue2  = 5,286
| statlabel3  = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue3  = 60.2
| pfr         = BlacTo00 
}}

'''Todd Alan Blackledge''' (born February 25, 1961) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[quarterback]] in [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Penn State Nittany Lions]], leading them to a national championship. He was selected by the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] with the seventh pick in the [[1983 NFL draft]] and also played for the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]. Blackledge is a college football television broadcaster, working for [[List of ESPN College Football on ABC personalities|ABC Sports]] from 1994 through 1998, for [[College Football on CBS Sports|CBS Sports]] from 1999 to 2005, [[List of ESPN College Football personalities|ESPN]] from 2006 through January 2023, and [[College Football on NBC Sports|NBC]] since February 2023.

==Early life==
Blackledge's family moved to [[Princeton, New Jersey]], where his father worked as offensive coordinator for the [[Princeton Tigers football]] team and Blackledge attended [[Princeton High School (New Jersey)|Princeton High School]] from 1975 to 1976.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/197186810/ "Penn State title stirs memories of prep quarterback"], ''[[Battle Creek Enquirer]]''January 4, 1983. Accessed October 2, 2017. "Princeton also is in Mercer County, and that fall Princeton had a new offensive coordinator for its football team by the name of Ron Blackledge. Blackledge's family moved to Princeton with him, including his son, Todd, who enrolled as a sophomore at Princeton High School and tried out for the football team as a quarterback."{{subscription required}}</ref> He returned to the Canton area to finish his high school career at [[North Canton Hoover High School]] in [[North Canton, Ohio]], from which he graduated in 1979.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==College career==
Blackledge was a three-year [[Starting lineup|starter]] at [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]], under Coach [[Joe Paterno]], where he guided the [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Nittany Lions]] to a 31–5 record including a [[1983 Sugar Bowl|national championship in 1982]].

Following the 1982 season, Blackledge won the [[Davey O'Brien Award]] for best quarterback in the nation. As a senior, Blackledge threw for 2,218 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while also rushing for three touchdowns.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/obrien.html|title=Davey O'Brien Award Winners|website=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/todd-blackledge-1.html|title=Todd Blackledge College Stats|website=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref>

Blackledge led the Nittany Lions to the national championship with a 27–23 victory over [[Herschel Walker]]-led Georgia Bulldogs in the [[1983 Sugar Bowl]]. Blackledge was the MVP of the game, throwing for 228 yards and a 4th-quarter 47-yard touchdown to [[Gregg Garrity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allstatesugarbowl.org/classic/1983-game-recap/|title=1983 Game Recap|last=firefly-wp|website=Official Site of the Allstate Sugar Bowl}}</ref>

==Professional career==
Blackledge was the seventh pick and second quarterback selected in the first round of the [[1983 NFL draft]], chosen by the [[Kansas City Chiefs]]. He was picked behind [[John Elway]] (#1, Baltimore) but ahead of [[Dan Marino]] (#27, Miami), astounding both Marino (who believed that he was better than Blackledge) and Blackledge himself (who had expected to be picked in the middle of the round).<ref name="30for30">{{cite episode | title=Elway to Marino | series=30 for 30 | network=ESPN | airdate=April 23, 2013 | season=2}}</ref> He was also drafted ahead of [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Jim Kelly]] (#14 Buffalo), as well as [[Tony Eason]] (#15, New England) and [[Ken O'Brien]] (#22, New York Jets).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1983/draft.htm|title=1983 NFL Draft Listing|website=[[Pro Football Reference]]}}</ref> He was the last quarterback drafted in the first round by the Chiefs until [[Patrick Mahomes]] three decades later.

Blackledge was a Chief for five seasons (1983–1987) before ending his career with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] (1988–1989). He served mainly as a back-up to [[Bill Kenney]] in Kansas City<ref name="pro-football-reference.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BlacTo00.htm|title=Todd Blackledge Stats|website=[[Pro Football Reference]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan/1984.htm|title=1984 Kansas City Chiefs Statistics & Players|website=[[Pro Football Reference]]}}</ref> starting only 24 of 40 possible games<ref name="BR">{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/663237-kansas-city-chiefs-10-biggest-draft-busts-in-team-history|title=Kansas City Chiefs: 10 Biggest Draft Busts in Team History|website=bleacherreport.com}}</ref> and completing just 49% of his passes for 4,510 yards, 26 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.<ref name="CBS">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/trey-lance-traded-ranking-the-biggest-draft-bust-for-every-team-three-quarterbacks-punter-crack-top-five/|title=Trey Lance traded: Ranking the biggest draft bust for every team; three quarterbacks, punter crack top five |website=cbssports.com|date=April 24, 2024 }}</ref>

Blackledge was the backup to [[Bubby Brister]] in Pittsburgh his final two seasons, going 2–3 in games started due to Brister's injury.<ref name="pro-football-reference.com"/>

==Broadcasting career==
Blackledge went on to host [[Sports radio|radio sports talk]] shows in [[Cleveland]] ([[WKNR]]) and Canton, Ohio ([[WHBC (AM)|WHBC]]). He also did analyst work for the [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]] Network, [[Indianapolis Colts]] preseason games, and [[ESPN]].

From 1994 to 1998, 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. On September 10, 2000, he called the Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts game with [[Greg Gumbel]] as he filled in for [[Phil Simms]] who underwent an emergency appendectomy. In 2006, he began serving on the first team alongside [[Mike Patrick]] for ''[[ESPN College Football Saturday Primetime]]'' on [[ESPN]]. As part of his duties he is featured on "Todd's Taste of the Town", a segment where he visits a local restaurant and samples its fare. Blackledge has facetiously stated this is the most difficult part of his broadcasting experience. {{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Blackedge was teamed with [[Brad Nessler]] and sideline reporter [[Erin Andrews]] for the 2009 season, while Patrick was teamed with [[Craig James (running back)|Craig James]] and sideline reporter [[Heather Cox]].

In the late 2010s, Blackledge was paired with [[Sean McDonough]], who returned to calling games at the college level after spending two seasons with [[Monday Night Football]], and [[Holly Rowe]], whom he had teamed with over the previous three years. [[Todd McShay]] joined their crew for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, with [[Molly McGrath]] joining for the latter season, and eventually replacing McShay for the 2022 season.

For the 2023 season, [[NBC Sports]] signed Blackledge as the color analyst on the new ''Big Ten Saturday Night'' package, partnering with [[Noah Eagle]]. The duo was also the #2 broadcast team for NBC's [[NFL on NBC|NFL]] broadcasts, calling the Week 16 Bengals-Steelers game and the Browns-Texans Wild Card game on NBC in 2023, and the Week 1 Packers-Eagles game in [[São Paulo, Brazil]] on [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]] in 2024.

==Coaching career==
In April 2014, Blackledge was hired as the head varsity basketball coach at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Canton Rep.com |title=North Canton hires Blackledge as varsity boys basketball coach |url=http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20140416/News/140419327 |date=April 16, 2014 |access-date=March 27, 2015 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Blackledge is the son of [[Ron Blackledge|Ron]], a former NFL assistant coach.

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-America]]n, 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 governors|Board of Visitors]] for Penn State's Center for Sports Journalism.<ref name="NCAA Silver">{{cite web | url = http://live.psu.edu/story/27400?nw=1 | title = Blackledge to receive prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award | publisher = Penn State Department of Sports Information | access-date =November 21, 2007 | date =November 21, 2007}}</ref>

Blackledge was selected to receive the prestigious 2008 [[Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)|NCAA Silver Anniversary Award]], recognizing former student-athletes who excelled both in their collegiate and professional careers.<ref name="NCAA Silver"/> On June 5, 2009, Blackledge received Penn State's prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award.<ref name="distinguished">{{cite web | url = http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060309aaa.html | title = Allen and Blackledge Receive Distinguished Alumni Awards | publisher = Penn State Department of Sports Information | date =June 3, 2009}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Footballstats |nfl=todd-blackledge<!--BLA224939-->|pfr=BlacTo00}}

{{1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football navbox}}
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{{Davey O'Brien Award}}
{{1983 NFL Draft}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackledge, Todd}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American sports radio personalities]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:College football announcers]]
[[Category:ESPN people]]
[[Category:Kansas City Chiefs players]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Princeton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Mercer County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Canton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni]]