The bonding of the Texas defensive back trio started with Bam

If you stumbled upon a practice field in Austin in 2020, you may have found Connally’s Jahdae Barron, Westlake’s Michael Taaffe and LBJ’s Andrew Mukuba practicing together. A few weeks ago, these three stood side by side as Barron accepted an award for the best defender in the country.

Bam Blake played football at Colorado State. Shortly after signing with the Packers, he suffered a brain aneurysm that ended his playing career. But then Blake started Bam Performance.

“Being from Austin myself, I wanted to start something to showcase my skills against Houston and Dallas,” Bam Blake said.

He trains and mentors some of Austin’s best talent, including the DB trio at UT: Michael Taaffe, Andrew Mukuba. And Jahdae Barron.

Before UT, Jahdae Barron, Michael Taaffe and Andrew Mukuba trained with Bam. During the pandemic, that meant every day, two hours a day.

“The things you see on the football field today – those bonds, those relationships – they all came from each other and how hard they were willing to work,” Blake explained.

“We would train with Bam and get each other going after practice,” Jahdae Barron said.

From workouts with Bam to award ceremonies.

“I mean, they pushed me up to this point. I was supposed to go to Baylor, Taaffe wasn’t supposed to be here, Andrew was at Clemson. “They pushed me to get to this point,” Barron explained.

As Texas prepares for the Peach Bowl, a new generation is working with Bam.

Bam predicts a pick from everyone in the Peach Bowl. But no matter what happens, he is proud.