What four-star linebacker Stone Blanton brings to Gamecocks as dual-sport standout
South Carolina linebacker signee Stone Blanton does a little bit of everything.
There’s football, of course. Baseball, too, is part of his annual sports routine. On this day, he’s just heading off the golf course — finishing just a couple shots over par.
“It’s kind of second nature now,” Blanton said of splitting time between football and baseball, which he’ll do at the college level. “I’m perfectly fine with long hours working hard. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
Blanton’s earned recognition at the high school level with his hard-hitting, downhill approach in the center of the Madison-Ridgeland Academy defense. It’s why he was rated a four-star recruit. It’s why his football offer sheet is doubly as long as most weekly grocery lists.
It’s why he’s such a crucial piece to the South Carolina 2022 signing class.
USC had its issues at linebacker in defensive coordinator Clayton White’s first fall in Columbia. Sherrod Greene’s season-ending injury in Week 3 at Georgia took a toll. Damani Staley — as well as he played in Greene’s absence — has now used up his eligibility.
Mo Kaba and Debo Williams feel like important pieces heading toward the spring, but it’s still too early to really tell. That’s not to mention the drama-filled signing day flip of four-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham just four days after he pledged to the Gamecocks.
Enter Blanton.
The MRA standout had been committed to Mississippi State for baseball for almost two years. Most prognosticators felt he’d stick with that decision. After all, when the Mississippi schools want an in-state prospect, they usually land them.
But not Blanton.
He visited Columbia for the season opener against Eastern Illinois. He and his family came back for the Clemson game the last week of November.
“I kept saying, ‘Man is this kid really going to leave the state of Mississippi when he’s got Ole Miss and Mississippi State after him not just for football, but for baseball as well?’ ” USC head coach Shane Beamer said during his early signing period press conference.
That Beamer, White and the staff were surprised Blanton ultimately chose South Carolina perhaps shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, given his longstanding interest in the Gamecocks.
Blanton said South Carolina always had an allure. Beamer brought constant positivity, while Blanton and White clicked almost immediately.
There were also a handful built-in advantages. Beamer’s first on-field job as a college coach came at Mississippi State in the early 2000s. His wife, Emily, is also a Starkville native and her family remains in the area.
Still, as “Sandstorm” blared Dec. 13 around the MRA gym in Madison, Mississippi after Blanton announced his pledge, those watching from the Long Family Football Facility erupted in excitement.
“Being able to have a coach whose family is in Mississippi (like Beamer) is another thing that brings relief to me,” Blanton conceded. “Because I know I’ll be able to come home and see my family when I need to.”
Blanton has technically signed with South Carolina for both football and baseball. He told The State he thoroughly enjoyed his conversations with USC baseball coach Mark Kingston during his official visit.
MRA head baseball coach Allen Pavatte isn’t too concerned about Blanton splitting time at the next level. He’s spent his whole life doing it. Now he’s just stepping up a notch.
During the high school football season, Blanton said he hit two or three days per week. During baseball, he still found time to mosey around to recruiting camps and the never-ending football recruiting circuit.
“I just think his mentality is, he’s a hard worker,” Pavatte told The State. “He strives to be excellent in whatever he does. He has a tremendous work ethic. He really tries to be a student of the game.”
South Carolina lost what would’ve been an impressive get when Barham flipped from USC to Maryland. And though he might’ve projected best as an edge rusher, it left a hole at linebacker.
Blanton’s commitment and signature, thus, became all the more important. It also may lead to increased playing time for the Magnolia State product in his first fall in Columbia.
In the meantime, Blanton is slated to play his first full high school baseball season in two years. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled his sophomore season. His junior year was then cut short due to a shoulder injury.
“He hasn’t really gotten to play a lot of baseball games,” Pavatte said. “And for him to be able to do what he does at the level he does, that is pretty amazing.”
Those around MRA are cherishing those final moments they’ll get with the star linebacker and outfielder. After that? They’ll turn their attention to the garnet and black-clad football and baseball teams in Columbia.
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
