Nicholas Blair, a former offensive lineman for the Eastern Washington University football program, was recently selected as the Outstanding Graduate in Mechanical Engineering by the EWU Department of Mechanical Engineering and Technology.
 
Blair is receiving his bachelor's degree this spring, and currently has a 3.97 grade point average. The 2016 graduate of Everett (Wash.) High School was on EWU's roster from 2016 through 2019 before an injury ended his career. After that, the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Blair assisted the EWU athletic department as a tutor. He was also a featured speaker for the 2020 Student Research and Creative Works Symposium.
 
He redshirted for the Eagles in 2016, then played in six games in 2017 as a backup offensive guard and earned Big Sky Conference All-Academic honors. He helped Eastern rank fifth in FCS in total offense (476.7 per game), and was also eighth in passing (320.5) and 14th in scoring (34.5).
 
He was a non-lettering squad member in 2018 and 2019 and didn't play in any games. During his redshirt season, he was selected as the team's offensive scout team player of the week twice.
 
Before graduating from Everett HS in 2016, he earned first-team All-3A Wesco North Division honors as an offensive lineman as a senior. Serving as a team captain for the second-straight season, he helped the Seagulls finish 5-5 his senior season. As a junior, he also earned second-team All-3A Wesco North Division honors as an offensive lineman. He served as a team captain.
 
Blair also competed in track and field at Everett. In his senior season he won the title in the shot put and placed fifth in the discus at the State 3A Championships. His won the title with a winning throw of 55-0 1/2, and earlier in the year had career bests of 57-3 1/2 in the shot (just short of the school record of 58-6) and 167-7 in the discus. As a junior he placed third in the discus and fifth in the shot put at State. He lettered three times and served as team captain twice.
 
He had a 3.6 grade point average at Everett, while taking advanced placement courses in calculus, physics and English.
 
Born in Seattle, Wash., his parents are Debbie and Bryan Blair. He went by his nickname "Nick" at EWU and has a 6-foot-9 wingspan.