Q&A: Paul Blackwell
October 08, 2020 | Football, HailStateBEAT
Getting to know senior long snapper Paul Blackwell
STARKVILLE - Each week during the 2020 football season, HailState.com will catch up with one football student-athlete to talk about football, personal favorites and everything that makes them unique. This week, we catch up with senior long snapper Paul Blackwell.
Q: Why did you choose Mississippi State?
PB: I have lived in Mississippi my whole life. I knew the culture that Mississippi State has and what type of fan base follows them. The fans are so passionate, and I saw that as an opportunity to play close to home in front my family and great fans. The culture fit me better than any other place that I could have played. It was my No. 1 choice and I am glad it has worked out.
Q: How did you start long snapping?
PB: I actually snapped all through high school. I started taking it seriously when my [high school] quarterback, who went to Gulf Coast [Community College], told me that I was good enough to play at the next level. I started to really work on snapping and went to Gulf Coast and it has gone on from there. I am just a normal-sized human – I played linebacker in high school – so long snapper was probably my best chance at playing college football, so I went after it.
Q: You own an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and now you are pursuing an MBA in public administration. Where do you see that taking you after football?
PB: My No. 1 goal is to play in the NFL, but life after football for me would ideal if I could work in the oil and gas industry. If that doesn't work, any avenue that will allow me to be successful and benefit my family is the plan.
Q: Who is the funniest person to hang out with outside the field?
PB: I am probably biased, but my man James Jackson is the funniest guy on the team. Maybe it is because I have known him since the seventh grade, with both of us being from Pascagoula. He is always cracking jokes. Every time we are out on field goal, he is talking to me and cracking me up.
Q: What do you enjoy doing off the field when you have some free time?
PB: Being an engineering major and playing football doesn't leave a lot of free time, but I enjoy hanging out with my friends and my girlfriend. Living on the coast, whenever I am home I like to go out on the boat and fish around the barrier islands.
Q: Have you caught anything good out there?
PB: Yea, there are some really nice speckled trout and flounder, and some nice sized red fish you can catch out there. When you get off shore, there is a lot of good snapper fishing, as well.
Q: What is your favorite meal?
PB: I will take it right back to seafood. My favorite thing is probably crab legs, even though that isn't from the Gulf Coast. There is nothing better than some great king crab. Really any type of seafood. And, oysters, I cannot forget about oysters.
Q: Are there any other hidden talents in you, other than football?
PB: I guess you could say long snapping, because not many people can do that. Though, I am legitimately ambidextrous. I throw a football and bowl with my right hand, but I throw a baseball my left hand. I write with my right hand and eat with my left hand. I guess you could small objects I use my left hand and large objects I use my right hand.
Q: Who has had the biggest impact on you?
PB: Athletically, it would probably be my high school coach, Scott Sisson. He is kind of a local legend around the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. He came to my high school when we were really struggling as a football program. He really build it from the ground up and allowed me to make it to the collegiate level. He helped me become a better person on and off the field.
Then, off the field, my parents have always been my biggest inspiration. They taught me all of my values and morals. They have been to every game of any sport I have played since I was three years old. I played football, soccer and baseball growing up, so from the age of three until now, at 23, they have not missed a game. They have always been supportive of me.
Q: What does it mean to have that type of support from your parents?
PB: Always having somebody that is there for you and telling you that you can accomplish whatever it might be is more than anything I could ever ask for. They were always motivating me during the tough times and pushing me to places that I never thought I could get.
Q: If you could give an incoming freshman one piece advice, what would it be?
PB: Like everyone would say, take it all in. Be as involved as you possibly can in everything. Meet people though many different avenues. Being a football student-athlete, I spend a lot of time on that, but you can have a life outside of your [extracurricular activities]. Some of my best friends I made though my engineering classes. And, enjoy yourself, because you're a college student.
Q: Why did you choose Mississippi State?
PB: I have lived in Mississippi my whole life. I knew the culture that Mississippi State has and what type of fan base follows them. The fans are so passionate, and I saw that as an opportunity to play close to home in front my family and great fans. The culture fit me better than any other place that I could have played. It was my No. 1 choice and I am glad it has worked out.
Q: How did you start long snapping?
PB: I actually snapped all through high school. I started taking it seriously when my [high school] quarterback, who went to Gulf Coast [Community College], told me that I was good enough to play at the next level. I started to really work on snapping and went to Gulf Coast and it has gone on from there. I am just a normal-sized human – I played linebacker in high school – so long snapper was probably my best chance at playing college football, so I went after it.
Q: You own an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and now you are pursuing an MBA in public administration. Where do you see that taking you after football?
PB: My No. 1 goal is to play in the NFL, but life after football for me would ideal if I could work in the oil and gas industry. If that doesn't work, any avenue that will allow me to be successful and benefit my family is the plan.
Q: Who is the funniest person to hang out with outside the field?
PB: I am probably biased, but my man James Jackson is the funniest guy on the team. Maybe it is because I have known him since the seventh grade, with both of us being from Pascagoula. He is always cracking jokes. Every time we are out on field goal, he is talking to me and cracking me up.
Q: What do you enjoy doing off the field when you have some free time?
PB: Being an engineering major and playing football doesn't leave a lot of free time, but I enjoy hanging out with my friends and my girlfriend. Living on the coast, whenever I am home I like to go out on the boat and fish around the barrier islands.
Q: Have you caught anything good out there?
PB: Yea, there are some really nice speckled trout and flounder, and some nice sized red fish you can catch out there. When you get off shore, there is a lot of good snapper fishing, as well.
Q: What is your favorite meal?
PB: I will take it right back to seafood. My favorite thing is probably crab legs, even though that isn't from the Gulf Coast. There is nothing better than some great king crab. Really any type of seafood. And, oysters, I cannot forget about oysters.
Q: Are there any other hidden talents in you, other than football?
PB: I guess you could say long snapping, because not many people can do that. Though, I am legitimately ambidextrous. I throw a football and bowl with my right hand, but I throw a baseball my left hand. I write with my right hand and eat with my left hand. I guess you could small objects I use my left hand and large objects I use my right hand.
Q: Who has had the biggest impact on you?
PB: Athletically, it would probably be my high school coach, Scott Sisson. He is kind of a local legend around the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. He came to my high school when we were really struggling as a football program. He really build it from the ground up and allowed me to make it to the collegiate level. He helped me become a better person on and off the field.
Then, off the field, my parents have always been my biggest inspiration. They taught me all of my values and morals. They have been to every game of any sport I have played since I was three years old. I played football, soccer and baseball growing up, so from the age of three until now, at 23, they have not missed a game. They have always been supportive of me.
Q: What does it mean to have that type of support from your parents?
PB: Always having somebody that is there for you and telling you that you can accomplish whatever it might be is more than anything I could ever ask for. They were always motivating me during the tough times and pushing me to places that I never thought I could get.
Q: If you could give an incoming freshman one piece advice, what would it be?
PB: Like everyone would say, take it all in. Be as involved as you possibly can in everything. Meet people though many different avenues. Being a football student-athlete, I spend a lot of time on that, but you can have a life outside of your [extracurricular activities]. Some of my best friends I made though my engineering classes. And, enjoy yourself, because you're a college student.
Players Mentioned
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