Late bloomer big hit in Texas;After passing on hockey at end of high school, Toronto's Philip Blake

Published Oct. 13, 2010 10:10 a.m. ET

foxsports

For most of his teenage years, Philip Blake thought little of football. Now he's being touted as the top pick in the 2011 CFL college draft.

Hockey was Blake's game while growing up in Toronto's rough Kipling-Rexdale neighbourhood. But in his final year of high school he tried football, and it has changed his life.

The 24-year-old Blake has blossomed into one of the top offensive linemen in U.S. college football. At 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, his size is scary and his performances with the Baylor University Bears, an NCAA Division I team in Waco, Tex., have pro scouts salivating and opposing teams wondering how to handle him.

Baylor lost to Texas Tech 45-38 in Dallas last Saturday but will take a 4-2 record to Boulder, Colo., this weekend against the University of Colorado (3-2).

Blake put away his skates for good after transferring from Monsignor Percy Johnson High to Father Henry Carr. He'd never played football, but the physical contact of the game and the Carr program appealed to him, and he was a quick study. That summer, he suited up for the Etobicoke Eagles and won the Ontario Varsity Football League team's best offensive lineman award.

Blake's dream, after getting his degree at Baylor, is to play professional football.

"It's all working out just fine. The lifestyle is way different than what is back in Toronto, but the plan is the same and that's to play pro - either the NFL or the CFL," he said, taking a break between practices.

"I know there are guys who would like to be in my spot, but I'm very fortunate that things have gone so well. The thing is to never give up and settle for something you don't want."

Blake is personable and gregarious off the football field. But beneath it, the behemoth lineman says he's not successful unless he helps make the Baylor offence click.

Bears offensive line coach Randy Clements had no hesitation switching Blake from tackle to fill a gap at centre created when two-time All-American J.D. Walton bid farewell to the Big 12 school last year to join the NFL's Denver Broncos.

"He's quick for a big guy, versatile and a great fit for us," said Clements, who initially heard about Blake through Shomari Williams, a Canadian who played at the University of Houston before finishing his college career with a Vanier Cup title at Queen's University.

"We tried to recruit Blake (to Houston), but he needed some course credits and went to a junior college. When I came to Baylor, he was the guy I wanted on my team."

For Blake, it's been a good ride.

"I'm excited, my family is happy and we stay in close contact," said Blake, who has tackle Danny Watkins, a Canadian drafted by the B.C. Lions, as one of his offensive linemates.

"I remember playing street hockey with my cousins, and who would have ever thought this would happen?"