April 1, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight former NFL football players, including Penn State's Todd Blackledge and Kenny Jackson, left Washington, D.C., on Monday to spend eight days in the Middle East. The former players will be busy coaching troops in a flag football tournament as part of the USO's Operation Gridiron: Huddle with the Troops.
Blackledge and Jackson are the second and third former Nittany Lion football players to visit U.S. troops in the Middle East in the last three months. In late January and early February, former standout linebacker Paul Posluszny went on a 10-day trip to Iraq, which included watching the Super Bowl, which began at 2:30 a.m. local time, with some U.S. military personnel in Iraq. Posluszny, the 2005 Butkus Award winner, is entering his second season with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
"Rick Kell, who puts USO trips together, called and asked me about it, and instantly I felt like it was something I wanted to try to do," said Blackledge, who quarterbacked Penn State's 1982 National Championship team, went on to have a successful NFL career with Kansas City and Pittsburgh, and currently is the top analyst with ESPN's College Football Primetime. "I have never been to that part of the world, and the timing is right for me to be able to do it. This is a nice part of the calendar year both professionally and personally."
Kell told Blackledge he needed eight former NFL players to make the trip work. With Blackledge on board, he had a total of three confirmed. "I enlisted Bobby Bell, who played for the Jets and the Bears; and fellow ESPN broadcaster Chris Spielman," said Blackledge, winner of the 1982 Davey O'Brien Award. "Then Kenny's name popped into my mind. I know he's very busy and active with a lot of things, but also that he has flexibility in his schedule. I thought he might be interested, so I called him out of the blue."
"I immediately said yes," said Jackson, a two-time All-America wideout who played with Blackledge and went on to play in the NFL with Philadelphia and Houston. "This is a great way for us to support our troops." Jackson said that the group will be visiting several Army and Naval bases while in the Middle East. "This tournament is a great way to give the troops some down-time, to have some fun. That's what the USO does. I'm glad Todd called me and that I'm able to take part in this."
Others in the group are Joe Mickles, who played college football at Mississippi and in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers; Mike McCrary, who played at Wake Forest and in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens; Chris Warren, who played at Ferrum and in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles; and Bobby Wilson, who played at Michigan State, and in the NFL with the Washington Redskins.
Blackledge said the group will be staying at Araf Jan base in Kuwait. "I'm pretty excited about this opportunity," he said. "It's an opportunity to say thanks and express my gratitude and honor the guys and gals over there. I have no military history in my family, but felt strongly that this was an opportunity I needed to take."