Quin Blanding (born May 1, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. He signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2018.

Early years

Blanding attended Bayside High School in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. In high school, he played quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, and safety. He was rated by Rivals.com and Scout.com as a five-star recruit. Rivals had him ranked as the best safety and fifth best player overall. He committed to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

to play college football.

College career

Blanding immediately became a true freshman in 2014. He became the first freshman to start the opening game for Virginia at safety since Tony Blount in 1976. He started all 12 games and recorded 123 tackles, which led all freshman and broke Ahmad Brooks Virginia freshman record. He also added three

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

and one sack. After the season, he was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Blanding also started all twelve games in 2015 and maintained his rank of number 2 in the ACC with 115 tackles. In 2016, he broke school records, ending the season with a total of 358 tackles, putting him at number 9 in career tackles in UVA history. As the 2017 season continued, Blanding led his team into a secured bowl game, ending the Georgia Tech game with an interception.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Blanding was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Carolina Panthers

On December 31, 2018, Blanding signed a reserve/future contract with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019 and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Panthers on December 30, 2019. On September 5, 2020, Blanding was waived by the Panthers.

References

External links

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Virginia Cavaliers bioCarolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanding, Quin 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Beach, Virginia American football safeties Virginia Cavaliers football players Washington Redskins players Carolina Panthers players