Reed Blankenship

Early life

Blankenship was born on March 2, 1999, and grew up in Lester, Alabama. He attended West Limestone High School and played football and basketball. He was an all-state, all-region, all-county, and all-area selection in football and earned the Player of the Year award in 2016. He served as the team's captain in two seasons and finished his career with 3,192 rushing yards, 1,004 yards receiving, 1,056 yards passing and 46 total touchdowns. He was also a member of the 2015 4A State Championship basketball team as well as an all-area and all-county player in basketball.

After graduating from high school, Blankenship received scholarship offers from Middle Tennessee, Alabama A&M, Marist, Minnesota, Southern Miss, Georgia State, Tulane, Troy, Samford, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, Arkansas Tech, Mercer, UT Martin, and Central Arkansas.

College career

Blankenship accepted the offer from Middle Tennessee and played in 13 games, nine as a starter, in his true freshman season (2017). He placed fourth on the team with 68 tackles and also made a sack and two interceptions, earning honorable mention all-conference and C-USA All-Freshman honors.

As a sophomore in 2018, Blankenship appeared in 13 games and started 12, making a team-leading and career-high 107 tackles along with four interceptions and seven passes defended. His four interceptions ranked 16th in the nation. Against Old Dominion on October 27, he made a sack, 17 tackles, 3 for loss and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, earning the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award and conference defensive player of the week honors. His interception return ranked number two on ESPN's top plays of the day list. At the end of the season, Blankenship was named first-team all-conference.

As a junior in 2019, Blankenship played in seven games before suffering a season-ending leg injury. A team captain, he compiled 58 tackles (fourth place on the team), two interceptions, three passes defended and a forced fumble before the injury. He also blocked two kicks, placing him first in the nation. Despite missing half the season, Blankenship was named second-team all-conference at the end of the year.

In 2020, Blankenship appeared in and started all nine games and made a team-leading 76 tackles. He was part of the Bednarik Award and Jim Thorpe Award watchlists. He was projected a mid-round pick for the 2021 NFL draft, but he decided to return for one more season at Middle Tennessee.

In 2021, as a fifth-year senior, Blankenship started all 13 games and was the school's leading tackler with 110 stops. He made three fumble recoveries which ranked third in the nation, and also placed eighth nationally in solo tackles per game with 5.8. He played 1,030 snaps which was more than any other player on the team. Against Marshall, Blankenship returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown and made a forced fumble, two recoveries and seven stops, being named the conference defensive player of the week for his efforts. Against Charlotte, he made 13 tackles and set the all-time Middle Tennessee tackles record. He was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award on October 6. At the end of the year, he was named first-team all-conference, C-USA all-academic, the conference Spirit Service Award winner, the Middle Tennessee Defensive Ironman of the Year and a selection to the East–West Shrine Bowl.

Personal life

Throughout the 2024 season, Blankenship and rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean were hailed together by fellow Eagles players and fans in a tandem known as "Exciting Whites", due to their ability to make plays together, in reference to a longstanding Internet meme.

Blankenship married Elsa Shafer, a kindergarten teacher, in July 2025. In November 2025 the couple announced they were expecting their first child.