South Carolina transfer LB Stone Blanton commits to Mississippi State football

STARKVILLE — Former South Carolina linebacker Stone Blanton is headed back to his home state. He announced via social media on Friday that he has committed to Mississippi State football.

Blanton is from Jackson where he attended Madison-Ridgeland Academy and was a multi-sport athlete. He was once an MSU baseball commit, but his football recruitment took him to South Carolina to play under coach Shane Beamer.

In two seasons with the Gamecocks, Blanton appeared in 24 games and started all 12 contests in 2023. He collected 52 tackles last season, including a tackle for loss. He also forced a fumble and returned his lone interception for a touchdown against Jacksonville State.

The Bulldogs are familiar with Blanton from his recruitment, but they also got a first-hand look at his play last season. In a Sept. 23 win against MSU, Blanton recorded four tackles and forced a fumble.

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Mississippi State is looking to replace plenty of production at linebacker with Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson exhausting their eligibility. They combined for 497 tackles the last two seasons and traded spots atop the SEC each year.

Blanton is the first portal addition at the position for coach Jeff Lebby and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Stone Blanton: South Carolina transfer to Mississippi State football

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/south-carolina-transfer-lb-stone-174429881.html

Author : The Clarion Ledger

Publish date : 2024-01-05 17:44:29

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