Blake Countess

Blake Countess

No. 29 Philadelphia Eagles
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1993-08-08) August 8, 1993
Place of birth:	Owings Mills, Maryland
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Olney (MD) Good Counsel
College:	Auburn
NFL draft:	2016 / Round: 6 / Pick: 196
Career history
Philadelphia Eagles (2016–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
TSN Freshman All-American (2011) ESPN.com and BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman (2011)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Blake Countess (born August 8, 1993) is an American football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). After a highly successful high school football career at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Countess accepted a football scholarship from the University of Michigan where he played from 2011 to 2014. After graduating, he would decide to transfer to Auburn University to play out his final year of NCAA eligibility as a redshirt senior.

High school career

Countess attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland. As a junior in 2009, he totaled over 50 tackles and 20 pass break ups. In May 2010, he was nominated to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school football all-star game. As a senior in 2010, Countess averaged 14.7 yards per catch, 35 yards per kickoff return and 22.9 yards per punt return for Good Counsel. Countess played both offense and defense for Good Counsel. His high school coach noted: "What you're going to get from him is he's a lockdown corner, started both ways for me, and if you don't keep an eye on him, he'll run a punt or kickoff back. He's a very reliable, dependable kid, a good character person ... a good, solid citizen, great kid, and good football player."

Recruiting and Army All-American Game

During the 2010 recruiting season, Countess was pursued by many top collegiate football programs including Notre Dame, Stanford, Penn State, Michigan, Tennessee, Arkansas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Maryland, Cincinnati, Louisville, Duke, Illinois, Virginia, and Wake Forest.

In early December 2010, Countess was selected as an Army All-American. At the U.S. Army All-American Bowl played on January 8, 2011, Countess did not allow a single pass completion to any receiver he covered, and the opposing quarterbacks chose not to throw many passes in his direction.

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Blake Countess DB	Olney, Maryland	Our Lady of Good Counsel H.S.	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	172.5 lb (78.2 kg)	4.475	Dec 17, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20 (CB)   Rivals: 133, 10 (CB), 3 (MD)  ESPN: 14 (CB)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

University of Michigan

Commitment to Michigan

On December 17, 2010, Countess announced his oral commitment to attend the University of Michigan. He noted that, after visiting Ann Arbor, he "fell in love with Ann Arbor, the coaches, the school, the football legacy, the Big House, and it's just where I felt at home." He was regarded as the top prospect in Michigan's 2011 recruiting class. ESPN.com called him "a natural cover guy with good size and speed," and noted that he has "all the tools to be an outstanding player in college." Three weeks after Countess committed to Michigan, the school's head coach Rich Rodriguez was fired. After the firing, Countess' high school coach noted that the move was unlikely to effect Countess' commitment. He noted that Countess was aware of rumors about Rodriguez being fired before giving his commitment and noted, "He said he picked Michigan because of the school." He signed his letter of intent with Michigan in February 2011.

2011 season

Countess saw his first substantial playing time for the 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team in the fourth quarter of a 28-7 victory over San Diego State on September 24, 2011. In less than one quarter, Countess accumulated seven tackles and broke up a pass in the endzone from Ryan Lindley. After the game, Michigan lineman Ryan Van Bergen noted that Countess has "a swagger about him." The following week, Countess again drew praise for forcing a fumble and leading the team in tackles in a 58-0 win over Minnesota. He received the Next Level Player of the Week award from Matt Bracken of The Baltimore Sun. For the season, he earned 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition from ESPN.com and BTN.com as well as 2011 TSN first team All-Freshman and College Football News All-Freshman honorable mention honors.

Transfer to Auburn

On May 13, 2015, Countess announced his decision to transfer from Michigan. After a brief recruiting process with various different schools, he would announce his intention to transfer to Auburn on May 26, enrolling just a few days later.