Jeb Blount as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jeb Blount, a former Longview High School multiple-sport standout who earned Hall of Fame honors at the college level and a Super Bowl ring in the National Football League, will be the keynote speaker at the annual ETVarsity Best Preps Awards ceremonies in Longview and Tyler.

The events are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 23 at Maude Cobb Convention Center in Longview and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 at Green Acres Crosswalk Center in Tyler.

Blount was a three-year Longview varsity basketball starter and a two-year starter at quarterback for the Lobos.

As a junior at Longview, he passed for 211 yards and a touchdown and was 15-for-20 on extra points and 3-for-5 on field goal attempts.

During his senior year, he passed for 974 yards and seven touchdowns, rushed for 245 yards and three scores, averaged 38.1 yards per punt and kicked two field goals. He averaged 15.7 points per game on the basketball court.

He signed to play football at the University of Tulsa, and helped lead Tulsa to three straight Missouri Valley Conference titles and a 15-1 record in conference play during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

Blount led Tulsa in passing in 1974 and 1975, throwing for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1974 and earning conference Offensive Player of the Year honors.

He finished his Tulsa career having completed 320 of 588 passes for 4,372 yards and 35 touchdowns, and was inducted into the Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 class.

Blount was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 1976 NFL Draft (50th overall), and earned a Super Bowl ring when the Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, later that season.

He was waived prior to the 1977 season and was claimed by several teams, but the NFL awarded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers his rights.

He started four games and played in five for Tampa Bay, passing for 522 yards.

Ticket information for both Best Preps events will be announced later.

Also this year, a Best Preps souvenir magazine will be available for both events, highlighting all nominees and winners and a Best Preps Ceremony Special Section will publish in the Longview News-Journal (April 28) and Tyler Morning Telegraph (May 5).

For information: https://etvarsitybestpreps.com/ or https://tylerbestpreps.com/.