By Tanner Marlar
The Monday morning started out just about like any other at Madison-Ridgeland Academy – a coffee pot brewing in the corner of an office, a few students making their way to class.
The halls were inundated with cheerful students following a big Friday night win. The signs from the weeks prior were still hung up throughout the halls and the stadium. The school was neck deep in football season, after all, and it’s a special time of year. In the administrative offices, faculty probably found themselves catching up over each other’s weekend plans.
Then, the phone rang. An administrator picked it up.
It was a woman, a mother to be more specific. Her son was on the team that played against MRA last week. He was on kickoff return, and she had a bone to pick.
“How could you let someone that age, that size, play high school football?” the woman asked.
Her son had been on the business end of a kickoff return hit that undoubtedly let him know the difference between normal high school athletes and the one who hit him. Someone needed to tell her the reality of the situation.
“Ma’am, I have bad news,” the administrator replied. “He’s just a junior, so you’re going to have to see him again next year.”
Click.
Blanton: “I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to come into.”
The player that delivered the blow was none other than 4-star middle linebacker Stone Blanton, and he’s been delivering those same hits ever since. Blanton played two seasons at South Carolina before ultimately hitting the transfer portal and coming back home, and according to him, there’s been no looking back.
“It’s meant the world to me,” said Blanton. “[Mississippi State] is kind of a place where I’ve always wanted to play growing up. I was a Mississippi State fan growing up, so to be able to play here feels like I’m home. I have a lot of friends, a lot of family that are close or nearby. It just makes this an awesome experience. I love the coaches, I love the players. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to come into.”
Despite the Bulldogs’ record sitting well below where the team and its fans would like at this point in the season, Blanton has been instrumental in shoring up the middle of the MSU defense. He and teammate Isaac Smith rank in the top five leading tacklers in the SEC. Smith and Blanton now share a bond not only as teammates, but as two players who decided to either stay or come home and represent the Magnolia State at the highest level.
“I’ve always had a bond since day one with [Stone] since he got here,” said Smith. “He’s also one of our best leaders on the team. Of course, he has the microphone piece in the helmet, so that helps a lot with him being in the middle, getting calls and communicating.”
On the field, Blanton receives calls directly from defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler, and that’s not a role that he takes lightly. Blanton also believes, though, that it hasn’t been a huge adjustment, but a volume knob might help.
“It hasn’t been that big of an adjustment. Sometimes I do have to tell coach Hutzler not to scream in my ear,” Blanton said jokingly. “You know, he’ll sometimes scream and it’ll sound like a world war two movie scene.”
Coach Herbert Davis’ Impact
Every high school football player that turns D-1 or any other high level has a coach that they hold to a high esteem. For Blanton, that’s coach Herbert Davis, and the feeling remains mutual between the two.
“He’s himself,” said Davis of Blanton. “He’s always been a good leader, he’s always been the kind of guy that didn’t need much motivating to try to work and get better. I can remember during high school, even when he was playing baseball, he would wake up at five o’clock in the morning and go work out at Jackson Country Club even though they still lifted during the season. He still wanted to lift heavy year round.”
Blanton’s senior year at MRA left no doubt about his prowess at the next level. The Patriots finished the year 11-3 and cruised through divisional and postseason play on the back of a defense that never allowed more than 23 points in divisional action. At that point, Blanton had picked up interest from several FBS programs and ultimately landed at South Carolina. Davis was with him throughout his entire recruitment process.
“Stone was very mature coming through as far as knowing what he wanted and knowing what he had to do in order to get there,” said Davis. “But he also knew what he was looking for as far as the type of family atmosphere and culture in the building wherever he wanted to go.”
Blanton still holds on to several memories of coach Davis and his days at MRA. When asked about his time there, all he could do was smile at first.
“I carry a whole lot with me,” said Blanton of his high school days. “I think those were some of the most influential years of my life. The people that poured into me at MRA, you know, I had Bible groups with some teachers and friends that I still connect with today.”
In reality, Blanton credits a lot of the people around him at MRA and in his family with steering him towards the path that he’s thankful to be on today.
“I wouldn’t say that I was on a bad path, but I was hanging around with the wrong crowd when I was in about eighth grade before I started playing football and all that stuff with the older kids,” said Blanton. “My fiance’s brother took me in. He was on the football team with me and helped me grow as a man and as a person. The coaches poured into me, coached me really hard, but loved me and helped me become the person that I am today, so I give them a lot of credit for that.”
What’s Next for Blanton?
At some point, football ends for everyone, and Blanton realizes that he’s no different. For now, he says that he’s enjoying the ride that he’s on while also planning for his future.
Blanton is engaged to be married, of course, and looks forward to having his future wife by his side throughout the rest of his journey. Outside of football, Blanton has an interest in finance, and is actively searching for an internship through connections he’s made within the sports world.
Members of the Mississippi State staff recently organized a job fair in which players met with members of the professional world to discuss life after football. In those meetings, Blanton formed connections that he hopes can give him some options when he does decide that his playing days are over.
For the immediate future, though, Blanton and the Bulldogs will travel to Athens, Georgia, this week to take on the fifth ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
