Nice find WP! Cody Blanc should definitely being playing RB somewhere, he has the skills, size, and attitude to play it. It's funny how he didn't get any offers until VaTech gave him one, and then UT did. I hope another school that plans to use him at RB gives it to him. In this article, he says he doesn't want to be confined to a DB:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jul/14/tennessee-gives-offer-knox-central-athlete-cody-bl/
Tennessee gives offer to Knox Central athlete Cody Blanc
By Jesse Smithey
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted July 14, 2011 at 10:29 a.m., updated July 14, 2011 at 3:02 p.m.
Whereas most high school football players wait for scholarship offers, Blanc has taken a more proactive approach.
It got him the offer he wanted — from the University of Tennessee — on Thursday morning.
Blanc, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound athlete from Knoxville Central High School, got the news from Tennessee’s recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach Terry Joseph.
But it was Blanc who made the call — at 7:45 a.m.
“He said, ‘I talked to Coach (Derek) Dooley. We’re excited. We want to offer you a scholarship,’ †said Blanc. “Oh, man. It was awesome.â€
He now has two offers from FBS schools over which to mull. Blanc attended camp at Virginia Tech last weekend, ran a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash and coach Frank Beamer offered him a scholarship Saturday.
Knowing the Hokies were running out of scholarships, Blanc picked up his cell phone and started phoning Tennessee coaches to see how serious they were about recruiting him.
His first call went to offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.
“I was trying to get a hold of Coach Chaney and everybody,†Blanc said. “I was in a situation where Tennessee had already seen me once. I don’t know if they didn’t like me or what, but they didn’t offer me.
“So then I went up to (Virginia) Tech, and they offered me. They were running out of spots. I was trying to get a hold of somebody (at Tennessee) yesterday to talk about it and see what was going on, because I was on the verge of committing to Virginia Tech. We went up there, and it was a sweet place.
“I got a hold of Coach Joseph last night. . . . He was like, ‘I’m going to talk with Coach Dooley and the staff, so give me a ring tomorrow.’ â€
Getting offered by Tennessee “felt like a dream,†to Blanc.
“Tennessee, I grew up with it,†he said. “I’ve been over there to about 50 games. When we got to play there in the jamboree, it was an amazing feeling.â€
While it sounds as if Blanc is ready to commit to Tennessee, he said he wanted to talk with Dooley and staff during camp at Tennessee some time next week. Playing time will be the topic du jour
The camp runs Monday-Wednesday.
“I want to go over there with my mom and dad and the coaches and sit down and talk to them, you know, and see if I’ll get to play,†he said. “They signed four safeties last year. I don’t want to commit to a school that is six-deep with safeties and that be the only position (Tennessee) is looking at me for.â€
Blanc rushed for 1,170 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games as a junior. He took five of his 18 kickoff returns in for touchdowns and averaged 39.6 yards per kickoff return. He caught two touchdowns and also made 55 tackles.
“I want Tennessee to be like, ‘This kid’s an athlete. He can play safety, special teams, a little receiver, a little running back.’ I don’t want them to just be, ‘He’s just a defensive back, because he’s not athletic enough to play anything else,’ †Blanc said. “Wherever I go, I want to play multiple positions.â€
Blanc will attend a one-day camp at Vanderbilt on Sunday. The Commodores, who’ve recently garnered national attention for recruiting success under first-year coach James Franklin, have been on Blanc’s radar a while.
Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Bob Shoop has handled Blanc’s recruitment.
“He says nobody in Tennessee is my bigger fan than him,†said Blanc. “I’ve been talking to him ever since football was over. He’s a real good guy. He wants me to come down and see the campus. They want to get some clocks on me and put me through the drills.â€
