H. B. Blades

'''Horatio Benedict "H.B." Blades, Jr.''' (born September 30, 1984) is an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh. He was drafted in the sixth round, with the 179th overall pick, of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.

Early years
Blades attended Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida where he set school records for tackles in a career (409), season (154), and game (21).

College career
Blades became only the fifth player in school history to record over 400 career tackles. He started and played in 12 games during his senior season at Pittsburgh where he was a First-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and SportsIllustrated.com and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a First-team All-Big East for the third time. He recorded a career-high 147 tackles (86 solo), 10.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and two blocked field goals as a senior.

Washington Redskins
Blades was drafted in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. In his rookie season, he played mostly special teams and recorded 21 tackles. In 2008 he played 16 games with 5 starts and recorded 60 tackles for the Redskins.

Blades was re-signed on August 1, 2011. On September 3, the Redskins cut Blades just before the start of the 2011 season.

Personal
Blades is the son of retired Pro Bowl defensive back, Bennie Blades. He is also the nephew of retired Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, Brian Blades, and former San Francisco 49ers safety, Al Blades. He is currently an assistant football coach at Parkwood High School in Monroe, North Carolina.