At first glance, East Mississippi Community College right tackle Blake Sharp’s 6-4, 270-pound frame is intimidating in itself. After finding out what he does to get in such shape, the sophomore from Heritage Academy seems downright scary.

    Sharp’s weekly workout is quite a bit different from most college lineman. While he still spends time bulking up both in the weight room and on the practice field, much of his strength comes from breeding and handling championship caliber bulls.

      Blake and his father Tony run Sharp Bucking Bulls and serve as contractors for Professional Bull Riders. The two own about 100 head of cattle including 30-40 bulls ranging from ages one to six.

    “I love it more than anything,” Sharp said. “I play football for East Mississippi, and I want to continue my career playing football. But when I’m done, I’m definitely going to take care of my bulls.”

    Raising the mammoth animals is no easy job. Sharp grew up tending to bulls on his ranch in Columbus. On weekends, he still makes the 45-minute drive home from Scooba and helps his dad with everything from feeding to mending damaged fences.

    While feeding might not sound like the most daunting of task, toting up to 10 100-pound sacks of feed a day in the winter helps Sharp develop the upper-body strength needed to easily fend off incoming defenders in the fall.  

    The grueling offseasons have also shaped his character. EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens referred to Sharp as one of the hardest workers on the team.

    Stephens knew he was getting a dedicated worker when Sharp took his first official visit to the campus bringing his bulls with him and leaving them in a trailer at a local gas station just up the road.

    “You knew right there you had someone that was hard working,” Stephens said. “He doesn’t mind work. He really is a throwback to those kids of the past. He’s a hard worker, and he doesn’t just expect things to be given to him.”

    In fact, Sharp’s dedication goes well beyond taking care of the bulls. He has also been hauling them to different events across the country since he was 16 years old. This past weekend, he drove to Erick, Okla. to sell a bull, making the 28-hour round trip without any sleep.

    When not selling bulls, Sharp and his father always have an eye out for the next big bull. The Sharps became well known for raising Hammer, a prized bull who boasted a 76.36 percent buckoff rate during his career. Sharp said the pursuit for the “perfect bull” can be tiresome as only about one in a 1000 bulls make it to PBR. However, finding that one can make it all worth it as the price for championship-level bulls can easily exceed six figures.

    With all the time he spends around his cattle, Stephens said Sharp holds some bullish characteristics of his own.

    “He has the mentality of a bull,” Stephens said. “He’s always charging. He’s always aggressive. He just tries to hit everything that moves.”

    Those traits earned Sharp Mississippi Association of Independent Schools All-State Second Team honors during his senior season in high school as he racked up 111 tackles and 11 sacks for the Patriots. As a defenive and offensive lineman Sharp also earned first team all-conference honors as a senior.

    Upon joining the Lions, Stephens switched Sharp solely to the offensive line. The change was tough at first as Sharp’s attacking nature favored the pursuit of the quarterback rather than protecting one. But, since moving into the right tackle spot, Sharp has dedicated himself to the position and now helps anchor a line that has only given up eight sacks all season.

    “He was just a better offensive lineman,” Stephens said. “We knew that was where his future was going to be.”

    Sharp is currently being recruited by Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Lafayette both at the tackle position.

    While he still wants to see where his playing career will take him, Sharp said he hopes to eventually end up running the family business and maybe even someday find that elusive perfect bull.

    “We have a really good program now,” Sharp said. “We raise just about everything we haul. So, it’s always exciting to see a good bull that you raised turn out to be great. There’s always a special bull somewhere, it’s just a matter of finding him.”