University of Virginia’s safety Quin Blanding is ready to get back on the field and help out his team dominate on every down. Blanding surprised UVA by staying for another year, even though he was eligible to enter the NFL Draft.
Blanding felt that his time was not up at Virginia and he had unfinished business that needed to be taken care of. He has been exceptional since he stepped on the field, earning first-team All-ACC safety the past two seasons. All of that does not matter to Blanding. He is hungry and wants more for himself and his football team.
“I’m going for the No. 1 tackling record in school history, I’m going for interceptions this year, I’m going to be a dominant player,” Blanding said. “I’m going to be the playmaker that everyone knows, even if you don’t put on the TV, they’re going to hear my name regardless of who they are or where they are, they’re going to hear my name and know my name.”
“I feel the best that I’ve ever felt,” Blanding said. “Just body-wise, I feel flexible, I feel fast, I feel strong and I’m not mentally drained.”
Blanding ranks No. 9 in the Virginia career record books with 358 tackles and needs 78 to break the school record of 435 held by Jamie Sharper.
The Cavaliers will have to lean on Blanding more to make big plays for the team as UVA has already lost two players for the season. UVA struggled to get pressure on opposing QB’s, miscommunication with defending the deep ball, and could not get a stop on third down conversions last season.
Even though UVA finished 2-10 last season, the defense showed some improvement in the last three games. With a new head coach and a new system, kinks needed to be worked out. This year we shall see if UVA can pull it together to compete for a bowl game.
