Justin Christopher Blalock (born December 20, 1983) is a former American football offensive guard who played eight seasons with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, where he earned All-American honors. The Falcons chose him in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Early years Blalock was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended Plano East Senior High School in the Dallas suburb of Plano. He was three-year starter at offensive guard, but also saw playing time at defensive tackle. As a sophomore in 1999, Blalock was named second-team all-district after recording 151 pancake blocks, as he helped lead Plano East to an 11–3 record and the Texas 5A Division II state quarterfinals that season. The offensive lineman was named all-district and all-area as a junior after registering 130 knockdowns. In 2001, Blalock posted 134 knockdown blocks, did not allow a sack and opened holes for an offense that averaged nearly 300 rushing yards per game. His top game of season was a 21-pancake performance vs. Plano Senior High School. Blalock was also an outstanding track and field athlete in the shot put and discus throw, where he was selected all-state. He captured the Region II-5A shot put title with a toss of 58-8½ in 2002 and finished fourth (55-2½) at the 2002 UIL Championships (Class 5A). He also registered the third-best throw (63-2½ or 19.28m) in the state as a senior (all classes) and placed fifth in the shot (61-6) at the 1999 Texas 5A Championships. Blalock was selected to play in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He also earned first-team All-American honors from USA Today as a senior, and was also a first-team Class 5A All-State, all-area and all-district selection. The Sporting News rated him as the nation's top offensive lineman prospect as well as the No. 15 high school prospect overall. College career Blalock attended the University of Texas, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2002 to 2006. As a redshirt freshman in 2003, Blalock started all 13 games at right tackle and was named first-team Freshman All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and The Sporting News. He also started all 12 games his sophomore year at right tackle and was named first-team All-Big 12 by the Big 12 coaches and the Austin American-Statesman. Blalock again manned