Gameday Program Feature: Steven Blair
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Sept. 19, 2007
He was laughed at and told he would never make it, but that just motivated him more. He dreamed of playing with the best, and being told he couldn't wasn't going to stop him. For Steven Blair, senior long-snapper on the Tigers, the dream came true. "It was pretty much the first time in my life that anyone told me I couldn't do something athletically, that I wasn't good enough," Blair said of some division three coaches that recruited him. Blair also considered Quincy University, McKendree University and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale but ultimately decided on the Tigers. "I got recruited by the D-3 schools, and when I told them I was thinking about walking on here, a lot of them told me I wouldn't make it flat out, some of them told me I was crazy," Blair said. "I wanted to play with the best. I wanted to see how far I could go. You can't do that unless you are playing Division I." Blair walked on to the team and showed his worth as proven by the scholarship he earned before the 2006 season. He also won the 2005 team walk-on player of the year award and the 2005 team most improved special forces player. "I've tried to work hard as long as I've been here," Blair said. "I've alway s done what was asked of me. I've always tried to be a good teammate, somebody that tries to help the team and not bring the team down." Blair's record has been of hard work, and even if he does make a mistake he is ready to bounce back from it. "I've always been pretty good about realizing once you make mistakes it doesn't help to relive them. You learn from it and then forget about it and move on. I'm not helping the team if I'm out there worrying about whether I mess up or not." Blair said being friends with punter Adam Crossett is also a benefit. "He (Crossett) gives me a hard time about it a little bit, but we're pretty understanding," Blair said. "I'll give him a hard time when he shanks a punt. We both realize that we don't get to go out there all that much but when we do it's very important. It's nice being friends with him too, knowing that we can always talk with each other and not have to worry about hurting each others feelings."
Blair was perfect on his snaps for the 2006 season and he hopes to be perfect from here on out in 2007. "From now on I want to be perfect for the rest of the season, perfect snaps," he said. "They count on me to go out there and get my job done the few times that I do get to go out there. And maybe make a few tackles on a punt too, that wouldn't hurt. Maybe get a big hit or two." To get himself ready, Blair said he listens to music, mostly country. "Some guys on the team say country music can't get you ready to go, but it does the trick if you listen to the right stuff," Blair said. He also tries to stay focused and work hard. "I try to visualize what I have to do and make sure I have myself 100-percent focused and help us go out there and win," he said. Blair said his goal is to always keep working hard to improve and never be satisfied with his performance. "Always working to improve, always trying to get better at the game, never letting yourself get content," Blair said. "The moment you get content with anything is the moment you lose what you worked hard to gain." Blair has succeeded in achieving his goal of playing for the Tigers, but the dream wasn't always about playing football. "When I was in fifth grade I wanted to take karate," he said. "My dad said if I wanted to hit people I should play football, so a couple weeks later we went and signed up for football." Blair said without the help of his family he wouldn't have achieved what he has so far. "I think I've at times exceeded my potential and that's because I've had people around me that pushed me. So I hope to be someone that has that affect on others," Blair said. Because of the impact people had on him, he wants to have that same effect on people once he leaves Mizzou. Blair is an education major and hopes to become a history teacher and football coach. "I like to feel like what I do makes a difference and helps people," he said. -- Andrew Shepler |