In the 100 days leading up to signing day 2015, RecruitingNation will be looking back at our ESPN recruiting rankings from 2006 to the present and counting down the best player of the past 10 years at each ranking position, No. 100 to No. 1.
Quin Blanding, No. 10 in 2014 class
There wasn’t much drama around the recruitment of Blanding coming out of Bayside High in Virginia Beach. He committed very early to Virginia in February of 2013 after considering offers from many of the nation's top programs, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, UCLA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan. Blanding was one of two five-star defenders to commit to Mike London in the 2014 class, along with defensive tackle Andrew Brown.
It's rare that a freshman makes this list, but that is how good Blanding was as a freshman at Virginia. He started the season by becoming the first Cavaliers true freshman to start a season opener at safety since 1976. He was also one of 10 Virginia players to start all 12 games, and finished second in the ACC in tackles with 123. Those 123 tackles also led the nation for all freshmen. He also filled the stat sheet with six pass breakups, three interceptions, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.
Following the special freshman season, the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game standout was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, All-ACC second team by the league coaches, and to numerous freshman All-American teams.
Entering the 2015 season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Blanding is a good bet to appear on most preseason All-American teams.
Though Blanding still has two years to play in Charlottesville, he is already on the radar of NFL scouts following the 2016 season.
Honorable mention: Rueben Randle, No. 10 in the 2009 class. Randle played at LSU and was a second-round (No. 63 overall) NFL draft pick by the New York Giants. Eddie Goldman, No. 10 in the 2012 class. Goldman just finished his junior season at Florida State, and has entered the 2015 NFL draft after posting 35 tackles and four sacks in 2014.
