Earning an opportunity: Hoover lands work out with 49ers

Jun. 17—Chasing dreams has become a reality for a former Huntsville Hornet who has now been invited back for a private workout with one of the NFL's premier teams.

Bedias native and Huntsville High School graduate, Blaine Hoover, has traveled near and far but has now earned himself the chance of a lifetime. He was invited to the San Francisco 49ers rookie minicamp and received an invite for a private workout afterward.

Hoover, a 2017 graduate of HHS, started his route from junior college and worked his way up to Tarleton State University where he finished his collegiate playing career.

After leaving Huntsville, Hoover attended Trinity Valley Community College before transferring to Tyler Junior College in 2019. Hoover then made it to the Division I level as he picked an offer from the University of Incarnate Word, a former Southland foe of Sam Houston.

"It was a blessing and it showed me that I really did want to play football," Hoover said. "The resources were minimal at JUCO and it got hard at times, but it showed me the love of the game. The competition level there is underrated and it showed me a different side of football I wasn't exposed to before. It showed me what it took to be successful."

Hoover played at Huntsville High School where he was the Hornets tight end. Throughout his tenure, he was a big target for the Hornets as he stood 6-foot-6 in his senior year at HHS.

"Blaine was unique because he was big," Huntsville head coach Rodney Southern said. "Everybody is always looking for a big body to play tight end. Blaine worked extremely hard and was really good for us as a tight end."

While he went to Trinity Valley Community College for two seasons, he would find his niche position after transferring to Tyler Junior College.

At TJC, Hoover was going to become a tight end but circumstances had the school looking to find a way to make things work. With just a handful of days before the Apaches faced the No. 6 ranked Kilgore College, he lined up on the other side of the ball during practice.

Hoover took reps as a defensive end and things took off after the first game.

In his first game, he was able to beat the edge for a sack against Kilgore. Hoover then worked his way up to five sacks at TJC in his one season and earned himself a chance to prove he could play Division I football.

UIW grabbed Hoover for his playmaking abilities at the time they started to surge. In Hoover's red-shirt junior season, which was also during the coronavirus pandemic, he played five games for the Cardinals.

In his first five games, he was a force gaining three sacks and 21 total tackles. Of those 21, seven were solo tackles with four tackles for loss.

But he continued to get better.

Hoover then played in 11 games for the Cardinals as a redshirt senior where he was a big piece of a team that went on to win the Southland Conference and make the FCS playoffs. The Cardinals team saw a 10-3 record that season and made the FCS playoffs.

UIW went on to defeat Stephen F. Austin in the first round before running into the No. 1 seed Sam Houston. Hoover and the Cardinals took the game all the way down to the final play where UIW quarterback Cameron Ward was stopped on the half-yard line, giving SHSU the goal-line stand and the playoff win.

But playing at UIW wasn't everything, it was just another reminder that working hard allowed him to continue his dreams. Hoover had officially made the jump and finished his career in the red and black with 47 tackles, three sacks and two pass breakups — one being against SHSU.

"For me, it showed me the work ethic. What you put into it is what you get out," Hoover said. "I felt like going into FCS. I was kind of behind. It showed me that to continue football, you had to continue to work. You can't stop working even when you think you will be good, or perfect, there is always something you can work on."

With an idea of what Division I football was like, Hoover took his talents to Tarleton State University, where he continued to grow. As Tarleton continued to transition from Division II to I, there were some similarities to his high school career.

Going into his junior year, Huntsville made a coaching transition as they went from Shane Martin to Southern. Hoover was part of a team that went from 2-8 to 7-4 in Southern's first year and made the playoffs.

"He was with a good group of guys that helped us rebuild the foundation of this program," Southern said. "He has a history in this area and just worked hard. He understood the importance of being on a football team, not just from an accolade standpoint. Blaine was good in the building and it's neat to see him as he has grown. He never shied away from hard work."

While at Tarleton, Hoover played in nine games as a COVID senior and was getting his master's degree in sports management. As the Texans capped off its transition, Hoover continued to build up his resume. He set new career highs at the D-I level with 15 solo tackles and 35 total tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss. Hoover helped the Texans to a 6-5 record in his last season of college football.

The change was helpful, too, as he would go from being in a four — down defense to a three-down and having the experience of being on the edge and being inside to get to the quarterback.

"I knew Tarleton was in a transition phase and I just wanted to be a part of that transition," Hoover said. "It showed me my versatility and it was a lot different playing on the edge vs. playing in the B-gap. It helped a lot being able to play across the line."

Gaining all of this knowledge played out to be a great move for him, but that's not where things are now.

Hoover received an invite to play for Hal Mumme in the 2022 Air Raid tour as a defensive end, but things changed.

Some traveling hiccups and a stagnant offense needed somebody to help block to get a drive going. That's where he came in.

On Hoover's first drive as an offensive tackle, the team put a scoring drive together.

He then played the rest of the game as a tackle where Mumme took notice of his ability and told him he could potentially make an NFL career from it.

After Hoover completed his final collegiate season, he prepared for his next chapter. While he did not get drafted, he still caught the eyes of teams. The San Francisco 49ers gave him the offer to come out to its rookie minicamp and show off his abilities as a defensive lineman, and he impressed the staff.

At the rookie mini-camp, Hoover wanted to keep things level-headed and just show the coaches there what his abilities to do were and that he belonged on the field at the professional level.

"It was great. The whole process was very nerve-racking," Hoover said. "You think you will be in one place and then you hear you will be in other places. It was very up and down but it taught me how to handle my emotions. When things are good you can't be too high on yourself. When things are low, you can't be too low on yourself. You have to find a happy medium. I enjoyed being able to represent myself, my agency and my hometown, it was a great experience."

Being versatile and being able to rise to the occasion paid off. While the 49ers brought him in originally as a defensive lineman for minicamp, he received another offer to return to the bay for a private workout — as an offensive lineman.

While Hoover has only really played offensive line for a handful of snaps, his frame sets him up to be successful. He stands at

But the lesson learned in playing football is that you have to be flexible rather than locked into one position as teams look for the person they can use in several other spots.

"It shows at the end of the you aren't just a position but you are a football player," Hoover said. "A lot of these coaches want football players. They want a guy that can do multiple things. I'm not just a defensive end or an offensive tackle or tight end. At the end of the day, I'm a football player and I enjoy the game of football."

Hoover now joins several others in making it to this level but he also had it in a unique way. With the creations of the XFL and the USFL, the option to continue to tweak his craft remains available with the dreams of making it to the greatest football stage.

Currently, around 55 players have been offered a chance to make an NFL roster after playing a season of football.

While Hoover still has a long way to go before he makes an NFL roster, he continues to chase his dreams of being an NFL player. Hoover will make his way back to San Francisco for a private workout in the coming weeks for the opportunity to earn an invite back to training camp, but things don't stop there.

He would also have the ability to go to another team's training camp to try and make a different 53-man roster.

Now, a kid from Bedias, Texas, has the opportunity to become a big winner by betting on himself.

"Don't be scared to bet on yourself," Hoover said. "I bet on myself and it has played out. Always know your worth and when you know it, add taxes. Continue to bet on yourself and think greatly of yourself and stay positive throughout the process. Positivity breeds success."