
Blanding (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.), a 2014 graduate of Bayside High School, finished his junior year in 2016 ranked No. 2 in the ACC and No. 9 in the nation with 10.0 tackles per game. His 10.0 tackles per game average were the most in the nation by a defensive back. Blanding has finished No. 2 in the ACC in tackles three seasons in a row, twice behind teammate Micah Kiser.
He was voted first-team All-ACC by the league’s media and also earned first-team all-league honors from the ACC head coaches, the Associated Press and Phil Steele Football. He was named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated and Athlon Sports tabbed him a fourth-team All-American. The Touchdown Club of Richmond named him its Defensive Back of the Year Award winner for the state of Virginia, while he also earned first-team VaSID all-state honors for the second year in a row.
Blanding will enter his senior season No. 9 all-time at UVA with 358 career tackles, which will be the most among all returning FBS players next season.
This is the second year in a row a UVA football player and former Bayside High School student-athlete will be honored with the General Douglas MacArthur Award. Last year former UVA running back Taquan Mizzell earned the award.