Chris Houston developed into an effective shutdown cornerback during his junior year. Having moved back to field cornerback in 2006 after playing the boundary position the previous season, Houston was usually lined up against the opponent's top receiver. By the end of the year, his successes outweighed his failures and he decided to leave the Razorbacks with a year of eligibility remaining.
Houston was a standout cornerback at Lyndon B. Johnson High School, where he also competed as a running back. Rivals.com ranked him as the nation's No. 32 cornerback, the No. 89 player overall in the Midlands Top 100 and the No. 66 player in the Texas Top 100. TheInsiders.com ranked him as the No. 68 cornerback in the nation, the No. 79 prospect in the state of Texas and the No. 111 cornerback in the nation.
As a senior, Houston rushed for 426 yards and six touchdowns before moving exclusively to cornerback. He was Lonestar Recruiting's No. 69 player in Texas and listed in Dave Campbell's Texas Football Top 300 while adding PrepStar All-Region IV accolades. In addition to lettering in football, Houston was a shooting guard on the basketball team.
In 2003, Houston enrolled at Arkansas, choosing the school over Louisiana State, Houston, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Arizona and Kansas State. He redshirted in 2003 and played in eight games during 2004, taking over field cornerback duties in the team's final four contests. He finished his rookie season with 21 tackles (16 solos) and 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, but missed the Alabama, Florida and Auburn games with an ankle sprain.
Houston took over boundary cornerback duties for the final nine games of the 2005 season and also served as the team's gunner on the special team coverage units, moving into the lineup when Darius Vinnett was lost for the year due to an injury. He came up with 20 tackles (15 solos), eight pass deflections and a forced fumble. Thanks in large part to his efforts as a gunner, Arkansas finished seventh in the nation in net punting.
Houston was again on the move in 2006, shifting back to field cornerback. He earned All-American honorable mention and All-Southeastern Conference second-team honors and was also a key component of Arkansas' outstanding special teams units. He registered a career-high 45 tackles (38 solos) with two forced fumbles. Considering that he generally covered the opponents' best receiver, he was challenged often. He allowed five touchdown receptions, but intercepted three passes and deflected 13 others. He even got to experience life on offense, catching a pass for 12 yards in the waning moments of the SEC title game against Florida.
In 33 games at Arkansas, Houston started 27 times. He recorded 86 tackles (69 solos) with five stops for losses of 8 yards. He caused three fumbles, had a 12-yard reception and returned one punt for a 1-yard gain. He also batted down 22 passes and intercepted three others for 129 yards in returns.
Blalock was a unanimous All-American and All-Big 12 Conference selection as a senior in 2006. He earned the league's Offensive Lineman of the Year Award. He was voted team captain and helped Texas gain 170.3 rushing yards per game (30th NCAA), 392.6 total yards per game (23rd NCAA) and score 36.8 points per game (fifth NCAA) during the regular season. Blalock closed out his career with a string of 27 consecutive games without allowing a quarterback sack.
AGILITY TESTS: Campus: 4.49 in the 40-yard dash ... 525-pound squat ... 321-pound power clean ... 35-inch vertical jump ... 4.03 20-yard shuttle ... 32-inch arm length ... 9-inch hands. Combine: 4.32 in the 40-yard dash ... 36-inch vertical jump ... 10-foot-2 broad jump ... 4.12 20-yard shuttle ... Bench pressed 225 pounds 27 times ... Chose not to run 60-yard shuttle.
