Jun 15, 2015 5 min read

Mel Blount terrorized opponents throughout his storied career in the National Football League. The hard-hitting, 6-3 defensive back embodied the toughness of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” defense by physically overpowering receivers.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer’s 14-year NFL career, during which he was credited with revolutionizing the cornerback position, included four Super Bowl championships and five Pro Bowl selections.

His three sons are not mirror images of their father, but each one inherited the size, strength and quickness that made Blount one of the most feared players in NFL history.

His oldest son, Akil, is the starting inside linebacker for Florida A&M. Blount’s next son, Jibri, a 6-6, 230-pound small forward in basketball, will begin his collegiate career at Cleveland State University next winter.

The youngest has taken an entirely different route. Khalid, 17, admires his father’s play as a defensive back and how Akil commands Florida A&M’s defense, but there aren’t too many 6-1, 298-pound athletes who play either position, so he found a niche in the trenches.

Khalid, a dominating two-way lineman who is entering his senior year at Washington High School, is gaining notoriety for his speed and athleticism. As a junior with the Prexies last fall, Blount was the centerpiece of one of the best offensive and defensive lines in WPIAL Class AA.

He is quick enough to block linebackers coming off the edge from his spot at right guard and strong enough to dump defensive linemen on their backs. His devastating blocks raised eyebrows, but Blount’s ability on defense has drawn rave reviews.

A projected three-technique nose tackle or a ‘zero shade’ nose guard, Blount holds Division I scholarship offers from Robert Morris, Duquesne and New Hampshire.

“It’s real busy. It’s really cool just being able to watch yourself grow and watch all that hard work paying off in front of your eyes,” Blount said. “That’s the best part about it.”

Blount was offered by Robert Morris late in the spring, but an invitation to Pitt’s Elite Senior Day earned him offers from the Dukes and Wildcats. He also attended The Nike Football Opening Regionals camp in Columbus last month, plus has visits arranged at Towson, James Madison, New Hampshire and trips to camps at Penn State and Temple.

There is little rest for highly-coveted high school football players entering their senior seasons, but Blount would not have it any other way. Football is his family’s legacy.

If Khalid wants football advice from his father, he has to start the conversation. The discussions are memorable to say the least.

“Sometimes I’ll forget that I’m even around greatness like that,” Khalid Blount said with a laugh. “I usually don’t think about Mel Blount the hall of famer. I usually think of him as a dad who loves to ride horses and is a country boy from Vidalia, Ga.”

The conversations quickly send him back to reality.

“Whenever I talk to him about football, it’s crazy how much he knows, but you have to pull it out of him. If you bring it up to him, he can talk for hours about different techniques I can use and how much knowledge he has for the game really surprises me sometimes.”

Blount transferred from The Linsly School in Wheeling, W.Va., after his freshman season and became a Prexie. It did not take long for Wash High head coach Mike Bosnic to see Blount’s potential.

“When he first came, he was really raw. You could see he had a lot of talent,” Bosnic said. “With his performance at the Pitt camp and the hard work he’s been putting in, plus the way he’s working in the classroom, his stock is rising big time right now. I think we’re going to another big jump from him. What’s scary is he has so much potential”

Blount spent his first season in blue and black learning. The speed of WPIAL football was much different and he was only a 15-year-old sophomore. The size and strength were not quite there.

Things have changed to say the least. He forced two fumbles in the WPIAL semifinals against Aliquippa, developed strong technique on both sides of the ball and gained strength that Bosnic called “rare.”

“I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with my sophomore season, but I told myself that now that I had a year in the program under my belt that I could just take off as a junior,” Blount said. “I was smarter, bigger, stronger and faster. I knew I had to go out and show what I could do.”

That’s exactly what happened and college coaches took notice. Blount is not currently ranked among the top linemen in Pennsylvania’s Class of 2016 by major recruiting websites, but he plans to change that next fall. Helping Wash High to another conference championship will help.

“We’re going to be awesome. We have so much speed it’s crazy,” Blount said. “For me, I’m thinking complete and utter domination. There are no excuses. I’m going to determine whether my team wins or loses a game each week.”