Dec. 18, 2011
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
– Scott Blair’s NFL dream is on life support, but there’s not a real good reason for you to be bummed about that.
Football was not the only reason he went to Georgia Tech, although the former kicker – who stands fifth in school history with 239 career points from 2007-1010 – held onto that idea even after his senior season only to be scuttled somewhat by the NFL lockout.
No worries.
For more than sixth months, Blair has been a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith-Barney, based in an office near Lenox Mall. He’s doing nicely.
“I still kick a little bit. I’ve been helping out a few guys on some high school teams; they keep me in tune with kicking. It’s kind of on the back burner right now,” Blair said. “Being a financial advisor is a pretty cutthroat world, and if I want to do it I have to stay pretty focused on that.”
Blair went to all but one of Tech’s home games this season, and he stays in touch with some former teammates. He’s still connected with his high school, too, and he could barely contain his excitement Sunday when talking about Calhoun High beating Buford last weekend to win the state Class AA title.
That was the fourth straight appearance in the title game for Calhoun, and the fourth straight times that Buford was the opponent. The first three times, the wrong team won. Last week, the Yellow Jackets won.
“That was something else, and we really needed to win because [Buford is] going to AAA next year and if we started winning states after, they would have said it was only because they left,” Blair said. “it was a good thing for Calhoun.” Blair still attends church in Calhoun, north of Atlanta, and stays in touch with his high school coach and current players.
Calhoun won the state title, in fact, in overtime when on the first play after a Buford turnover, the Jackets sent out sensational kicker Adam Griffith. He nailed the 32-yarder to end it.
“My parents went, too, and the first thing because my dad and I talked about right after that was how many high school teams would not even run a play right there,” he said. “Coach [Hal] Lamb is really focused on developing kickers.”
Most of Blair’s focus these days is on working with the premier wealth management group in his office, where he and colleagues focus on custom portfolios for higher-worth individuals.
There is some travel involved, depending on where clients or potential clients reside. It’s a pretty darned good job straight out of college, and Blair’s path was made more clear by having interned in the same office before his senior year.
Blair was preparing to travel Sunday evening when he spoke with Sting Daily. He and girlfriend Christy Jones, a former Tech softball player, were set to travel to her hometown of Wichita, Kan., for a week.
He’ll likely find time once he’s back in Atlanta to watch Tech play Utah in the Sun Bowl, and he’ll keep dipping a toe into the world of kicking, at least for a while. Mostly, though, he’s busy making a nice living with the other skills he developed on The Flats.
“Besides Morgan Stanley and a little of the kicking, there’s not a lot of spare time,” he said. “When I’m at home, I’m always trying to figure out what I’m going to be doing the next day at work.”
I always liked Scott Blair. How can you not dig a kicker as will as he always was to make a tackle? Comments to stingdaily@gmail.com.
