MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — Maybe it was a hard day on the practice field. Or in the training room. Wisconsin safety Travian Blaylock, after all, has struggled to stay healthy. Especially his first two seasons.

Or maybe it was just a long day in the classroom. Balancing academics and athletics at a Big Ten university, certainly, can be challenging and demanding. Particularly a business school curriculum.

But regardless of the type of day that Blaylock may have had on campus, he can always count on getting a warm reception at home from his wife Tatiana and their 21-month-old son Tristan.

It makes his day. Every day. So, despite juggling myriad responsibilities as a husband-father and a student-athlete, the 21-year-old Blaylock has always felt blessed by his unique circumstances.

"I have a schedule where I come home at the same time every day, especially right now with spring ball," he said. "As soon as I put the key in the door, I already hear him running up to the door. As soon as I unlock it, he's already at my legs giving me a hug and my wife is there to greet me as well.

"I look at him and it is a blessing. He puts a smile on my face every day."

That smile may widen when Tristan is wearing his Badger gear, not the least of which is a 2020 Rose Bowl jersey bearing his dad's number 26 and "Blaylock" on the back. But there are sacrifices and compromises to being a college undergrad and parent whose discipline is kept in check by the clock.

"Just being a father is very time consuming," said Blaylock, a redshirt junior from Humble, Texas. "My son always wants to play, and I play with him and it's all fun. But at the end of the day, you also have to think about all the other stuff that you have going on, too, with school and football.

"There's just a lot more things that I have to divide my attention between that a lot of people don't even have the slightest clue on how difficult that can be … in just making sure I stay on top of my stuff here at the house and in the classroom and on the field.

"When it's time to play with Tristan, I'm playing with him. When it's time to spend time with my wife, I spend time with Tatiana. When it's time to focus on my classwork, it's time to focus on that. And when it's time to focus on football, I'm focused on football.

"Being able to decipher when I'm supposed to be doing what thing can be difficult. It's definitely a lot that gets put on your plate. But, again, at the end of the day, it's something that has to get done, so it gets done … it's just time management and a lot of different things I have to keep my attention on."

Travian and Tatiana Blaylock (nee Delgado) grew up five minutes apart in the Houston metro area. They began dating as seniors at Atascocita High School in Humble. Both were on prom court. Both lettered in track. Travian was a state triple jump champion. Tatiana competed in multiple events.

Although they took separate paths after graduation — Travian as a member of the UW's 2018 recruiting class and Tatiana as a freshman at Trinity Christian College in Chicago — they found their way back to each other within a year and got married in May of 2019.

That, in itself, called for him to make a lifestyle adjustment.

"My first semester of my freshman year and even going into the second semester," he said, "I was going home after practice and not really having to worry about anything. I was able to play video games and watch TV whenever I wanted. I really didn't have anyone to look after besides myself."

After one semester at Trinity Christian, Tatiana returned to Houston for a brief time before relocating to Madison. Since then, she has been taking online classes from Arizona State University. A biology major, she has expressed interest in pharmacy and is on track to graduate in the spring of '22.

In light of the commitment it has taken to complete their education and raise their child the right way, Travian is very proud of Tatiana's achievements and role in Tristan's upbringing and said so: "I come home every day to my son and my loving wife. Can't really ask for much more than that."
 

Not long after learning he was going to be a father, Blaylock showed up at Paul Chryst's office.

"We talked about the responsibilities that it was going to bring as well as talking about how much of a blessing it was going to be in the end," Blaylock said. "We talked about having your own son — someone you get to help grow and develop and help be the man that you want him to become.

"Right after that, I went to Coach Leonhard's office and told him."

Jim Leonhard is not only the defensive coordinator but Blaylock's position coach at safety.

"We basically talked about the same things. Coach Leonhard has some young kids of his own (three boys). And just being able to see how he interacts with them and plays with them (when they come to the stadium), I'm looking forward to being able to do that in the near future."

Leonhard has appreciated how Blaylock has handled his business and balanced his life.

"I can only imagine the difficulties that you go through as a college student with everything that is on your plate and the time management that it takes," said the 38-year-old Leonhard. "I was fortunate to be older going through that (family) situation and it was still extremely difficult.

"You knew he was a mature kid anyway. But to see how he has been able to handle the load of being a father on top of the athletics and the academic side — being driven as he is to succeed in all areas — it's pretty impressive and fun to watch as a coach."

Blaylock has been grateful for the positive response and support from the staff and teammates.

"Before COVID started, I used to bring Tristan to the stadium on Sundays after games — treatment days," he said. "Everybody would be around him in the training room and holding him. That was awesome. I'd take him in the weight room and all the strength coaches would be talking to him."

Some of those coaches have younger children, too, Blaylock noted.

Wisconsin's starting safeties throughout the spring — Scott Nelson and Collin Wilder — have been frequent visitors to the Blaylock apartment, along with former safety Madison Cone, defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens, and tailback Isaac Guerendo, among others.

"They're like uncles and Tristan loves them all," Blaylock said. "Even though he doesn't really know what's going on now, he'll look back someday in the future and I'll be able to tell him, 'You got to hang out with some pretty cool dudes when you were growing up.'"

Blaylock grew up in like manner. His dad, Derrick, was a running back in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs (2001-04) and New York Jets (2005-06). In fact, Priest Holmes and Blaylock set a record by each rushing for four touchdowns in the Chiefs' rout of Atlanta in 2004.

"I do remember glimpses of games — some things from Arrowhead Stadium and also when he played for the Jets," Travian said. "He talks about it (his pro career), but not in a conceited way. He talks about his experiences and the people that he got to meet and the relationships you build in the NFL."

Some are lifelong friends, he added. In New York, Derrick Blaylock played briefly with Hank Poteat, who was recently hired to coach Wisconsin's cornerbacks. Blaylock's pro career was winding down because of injuries at about the same time Leonhard was starting out in the league.

"I didn't know him, but I definitely knew the name and knew of him as a player," said Leonhard, a 10-year NFL vet. "I know he's a great leader now back in his community (in Texas) and it's a lot of fun to talk with him. He's a high-energy guy and he has passed that on to his kid."

Derrick Blaylock is the owner of Armed Sports Performance, a training facility in Humble. Blaylock has worked with athletes of all ages from middle school to the NFL. Kansas City's Mecole Hardman, for one, has used the facility. When they were in high school, Travian and Tatiana both trained there.

"As soon as COVID hit and the university sent us home and we finished the spring semester online," Blaylock said, "we were able to hang out with my parents and Tatiana's family and they were able to see their grandson for an extended period of time. It grew us closer together for sure."

Travian is from a tight family. He has five siblings, four brothers and a sister.

"My mom (Kristen) and dad raised me into the man I am today. I'm a church kid," he said. "I definitely held myself to a higher standard, especially being the oldest. I wanted to be that brother that my young siblings could look up to and say, 'He did it the right way' and they'd want to be like me.

"Whether it was school or athletics, they've lived up to it and gone above and beyond me."

Kristen and Derrick Blaylock emphasized the importance of academics to all their kids.

"That was a huge emphasis, and still is with my younger brothers now," Travian said. "I was always a pretty smart kid in terms of school. Once my parents knew what I was capable of, they always held me to that standard. I tried to get all A's and beat myself up over B's."

Coming out of Atascocita High School as a three-star prospect, Blaylock was recruited by the service academies and some Ivy League programs. Ultimately, he had to choose between Stanford and Wisconsin. He was one of the last players to verbally commit to the Badgers in that '18 recruiting class.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this is Wisconsin football, this is a top-tier program," he said. "We're always a (Big Ten) contender, we're always in the rankings and we're always trying to push for that national championship, and we're going to get it eventually."

As a true freshman, Blaylock appeared in four games before injuring his hamstring, which required offseason surgery. The following year, he was limited to just one game due to another hamstring injury. Last season, he managed to play in every game, mostly on special teams.

"The past several years I'd really describe as pretty frustrating just because I've been injured," he said. "But last year I was actually able to make it through the whole season — granted it was only seven games — but that was a huge confidence boost to make all the practices and all the games.

"I saw a little bit of action on defense last year and I'm looking to get a little more this year. Right now, I'm optimistic in terms of getting out there and showing everybody what I can do finally for the first time since I've been here."

Leonhard is on board with that thinking.

"I definitely seeing him growing into having a role in the future," he said.

It would put another smile on the face of Tristan's dad.