Blake Elliott (born February 19, 1981) was the winner of the 2003

Gagliardi Trophy The Gagliardi Trophy was first presented in 1993 to the Outstanding Division III college football player of the year by the Jostens Company and the J-Club of Saint John's University in Minnesota. Since that time, the award has become one of the ...

for

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

and football excellence covering all of

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

. He graduated from Melrose High School in

Melrose, Minnesota Melrose is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,598 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area ...

and

Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: * St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law ** St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and C ...

(

Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292. Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud. ...

). He owns several school, conference, and national records in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

football. In his senior year, he led Saint John's to the

NCAA Division III Football Championship The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

over previously unbeaten

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

. After college, Elliott spent time with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

with a tryout. He never played professionally.

References

External links

MIAC Profiles of Excellence, Saint John’s Blake Elliott
1981 births Living people American football wide receivers Saint John's Johnnies football players People from Melrose, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota {{collegefootball-player-stub