FORT WORTH, Texas -- Do you know the name Tommy Blake? You were supposed to by now. The TCU senior defensive end once was one of the highest-rated NFL prospects for the 2008 draft. Mock drafts, including one at SportingNews.com, have had Blake going as high as No. 5 overall
Then Blake left the TCU team in fall camp, and he left again four games into the season, both times taking medical leaves of absence that had nothing to do with injuries, substance abuse or performance enhancers.
Blake is under the care of doctors as he tries to regain the form that made him a 2007 preseason All-American. In a Sporting News exclusive, Blake spoke Wednesday night about his state of mind, his struggles to perform well on the field and the skepticism he has heard about his desire to play football.
After Blake returned to the team with four games remaining in the regular season, TCU coach Gary Patterson and the school's public-relations staff wisely shielded him from the media. This was his first interview with any member of the media since early October.
"I know a lot of people have been wondering stuff like, 'Where's Tommy at? Why isn't he playing?' I know I haven't been in the same shape this year that I was last year or had the same focus," Blake told me after practice in preparation for the Dec. 28 Texas Bowl. "But I am going to be OK. And I still love the game. I do love the game.
"Right now my main focus is school and finishing up at TCU. Once I get done with that, then football is going to be there. I will play football, and I will get back to where I was. Believe me."
I want to believe him. Blake -- whom many scouts have compared favorably to the Colts' Dwight Freeney because of his explosiveness off the ball -- is only 22 years old. He still can accomplish anything under the sun.
"He is a wonderful kid who you have to root for if you have a heart," Patterson said. "He comes from a loving family. He cares about people. He cares about kids."
I want to believe Blake, but I -- like more than one insider at TCU -- suspect Blake might be happier when football is behind him and life becomes simpler again back in tiny Aransas Pass, Texas.
What matters most is, of course, that Blake finds peace and happiness in his life. It hasn't always been easy. Blake, with his father out of the picture, was raised by his maternal grandmother after his mother died when he was 10 months old. But his grandmother always has been like a mother -- "the best in the world," according to Blake -- and he is close with his two siblings. He has lifelong friends from Aransas Pass who support him today. He is in a serious, loving relationship with his girlfriend, also a TCU student.
Blake's coaches and teammates are behind him, even though he has been playing as much as 40 pounds above his ideal football weight and his performance has been lackluster at best.
"I just need more time," Blake said Wednesday night. "I still need to get all the way back on track. After the bowl game, I'll be ready to work out; I really haven't worked out much in a while. But I'll get there.
"I'll finish up with my schoolwork and really start concentrating on my life."
The next few months will bring challenges. If stress got to Blake before, as he has acknowledged, then it could be a problem again as he is forced to answer questions about his personal life from a sea of NFL scouts, general managers, coaches and media members. ..............................................................
