Blake Gideon

Gideon was lightly recruited out of high school, choosing Texas over Rice and Vanderbilt. He earned a starting job at safety as a true freshman in 2008, starting all 13 games and recording 56 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack, 3 passes broken up and 1 forced fumble, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. Gideon started all 14 games in 2009 as a sophomore, finishing with 49 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 3 passes broken up and a team-best 6 interceptions, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. He again started every game in 2010 as a junior, recording 63 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 3 passes broken up, 1 forced fumble and 2 interceptions, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. Gideon was a senior captain in 2011 and started all 13 games, finishing with a career-best 66 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, 4 passes broken up, 1 fumble recovery and 2 interceptions, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. Gideon started every game of his Texas career with consistent production, but didn?t show steady improvement each season ? was an Honorable Mention all four seasons, but never a first or second team all-conference selection. He is a strong downhill defender and big hitter, but is inconsistent as a tackler, taking too many poor angles. Gideon is a stiff, limited athlete who always seems a step late and lacks much range or burst ? projects as a reserve safety and borderline draftable prospect whose best chance at the next level will be as a special teams performer to stay on a roster.

strengths

Has solid size for the position and plays stronger than he will test. Very aggressive against the run and is a hard hitter ? doesn?t shy from contact. Uses his eyes well and is a smart, instinctive player with good feel to know where to be on the field. Has very good pre-snap recognition and reacts quickly to the run ? active and does a nice job working through a crowd to make the hit. Does a nice job reading eyes of the passer and jumping routes with solid ballskills (10 career INTs). A tough, hard worker who loves the game and is consistently playing at full speed. Has very good starting experience, starting every game of his collegiate career (52 starts). Possesses very good intangibles as the son of a coach with outstanding toughness and confidence.

nfl comparison

Chris Maragos, Seattle Seahawks

weaknesses

A stiff, straight-line athlete who lacks explosive range and fluid burst. Doesn?t have the top-end speed to recover after a false step. Struggles in space with limited lateral ability and has trouble making the play when the action isn?t directly in front of him. Struggles to consistently find the ball and is a liability in coverage with inconsistent reads ? too many blown assignments, biting on fakes and playing overaggressive. An undisciplined tackler and misses too many open-field opportunities ? inconsistent angles and poor tackling technique, hitting too high. Didn?t show consistent improvement over his career and failed to take his game to the next level from his freshman to senior years.

Coached by his father, Steve Gideon, at Leander H.S.

a three-year starter at safety who recorded 300 tackles, 10 INTs, six forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and 14 TDs in his final three years

also saw action on special teams and at QB

named first-team 5A all-state by the Associated Press and the Texas Sports Writers Association, district 14-5A MVP and first-team All-Centex as a senior

helped the Leander Lions finish second in the district by posting 142 tackles, eight INTs, 10 PBU, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries

also posted 533 rushing yards and 14 TDs as a situational QB

posted a career-high 15 tackles to go along with an INT, a forced fumble, 99 yards rushing, a TD and a blocked extra point against Pflugerville

earned honorable mention all-state by the Associated Press and first-team all-district honors as a junior

notched 119 tackles, two INTs, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries

tabbed honorable mention all-district as a sophomore

posted 39 tackles in six games before sustaining a season-ending injury

a versatile three-sport letterman who played baseball as a freshman and ran on the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays

led the 4x400-meter relay to regionals as a sophomore and junior.

Born in DeLeon, Texas

his father, Steve, played cornerback at Stephen F. Austin (1977) and was his coach at Leander.