Cletus W. Blakeman (born June 23, 1964) is an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). His uniform number is 34. He played college football at the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...
. Outside of his work as an NFL official, he is a partner and personal injury attorney in the law firm of Carlson Blakeman LLP in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
.
Blakeman began his
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
officiating career in the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
, moving to the NFL in 2008 as a field judge for the first two seasons of his pro football officiating career, and subsequently refereeing for the
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season (NFL), regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 45th of the Super Bowl era.
The regular season began with the National Football League Kickoff game, NFL Kickoff game on NBC S ...
, after
Don Carey returned to the back judge position.
Selected in 2013 as the alternate referee for
Super Bowl XLVIII
Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2013 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2013 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks to ...
, Blakeman officiated
Super Bowl 50 in 2016.
College football career
Blakeman attended the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
from 1984 to 1987, serving primarily as a backup quarterback for the
Nebraska Cornhuskers, including the
1986 and
1987 seasons behind starter
Steve Taylor.
During Nebraska's game against the unranked
Colorado Buffaloes on October 25, 1986, head coach
Tom Osborne replaced Taylor with Blakeman in the fourth quarter. Colorado still limited Blakeman to 4 out of 6 completions for 37 yards, and held on to upset the Huskers, 20–10, their first win over Nebraska since 1967 and the Buffaloes' first win over Nebraska
at home since 1960.
Blakeman played in the
1987 Sugar Bowl, a 30–15 victory over
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
champion
LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
.
On October 3, 1987,
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
was leading Nebraska, 21–13, when Taylor left the game after injuring his shoulder on the last play of the 3rd quarter. In relief, Blakeman completed his only pass for 8 yards. But aided by a strong running game, and Nebraska's
Blackshirts defense that forced two turnovers and allowed only 9 yards in the 4th quarter, the Huskers rallied around Blakeman to score 17 unanswered points to win, 30–21.
Blakeman also started two games in place of an injured Taylor, both of which were victories over the
Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...
. On November 15, 1986, he threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as he led Nebraska to a 70–0 rout at Lawrence, the worst defeat in Jayhawk history and the biggest shutout by Nebraska up to that point. And on October 10, 1987, Blakeman completed 10-of-12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in Nebraska's 54–2 victory vs. KU at Lincoln.
Statistics
Officiating career
Blakeman was hired by the NFL for the 2008 season. He served as field judge for the crew led by referee
Bill Leavy from 2008 to 2009. Blakeman received a postseason assignment in a 2009 AFC wild card game. He was then promoted to referee for the 2010 season.
Since becoming a referee, Blakeman has been assigned to nine postseason games, which include three conference championship games and
Super Bowl 50.
Since 2013, Blakeman's voice and likeness have been used for penalty announcements in the
Madden NFL
''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football sports video game series developed by EA Orlando for EA Sports. The franchise, named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden, has ...
franchise.
2024 Crew
Source:
* R: Clete Blakeman
* U: Scott Campbell
* DJ: Dana McKenzie
* LJ: Julian Mapp
* FJ: Karina Tovar*
* SJ: James Coleman
* BJ: Jonah Monroe
* RO: Chad Adams
* RA: Amber Cornell*
*Indicates 1st year in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakeman, Clete
1964 births
Living people
NFL officials
Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
People from Blair, Nebraska
American football quarterbacks
Players of American football from Nebraska