Quin Blanding (born May 1, 1996) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state 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 The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2018.

Early life

Blanding attended Bayside High School in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. 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 university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

to play

College career

Blanding immediately became a starter as 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 bu ...

and one

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. 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

*
Virginia Cavaliers 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