Blades Jr. Living Up to his Family Name
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Blades.
The name is unmistakable when it comes to Miami football.
The Blades family has been part of Hurricanes football since the 1980s when Bennie and Brian Blades starred for the 1987 national champion Canes. Then came younger brother Al, who was a leader of Miami’s defense from 1996-2000.
The latest Blades to don the orange and green Miami uniform is Al Blades, Jr. The freshman defensive back, who is the son of the youngest Blades brother, wears No. 7 just like his dad did and he is already making a name for himself in Coral Gables. Blades Jr. was named special teams captain for Miami’s game this Saturday at Toledo.
“It means a lot,” Blades, Jr. said. “A lot of blood, sweat, and tears being shed out here. We come out and work every day. It is an honor to be honored in such a great way. It is very emotional for me. You grow up watching everything and to be out there as a captain at the University of Miami is something big for me.”
Having so much family history at Miami made Blades’ selection as captain extra special for him. The freshman sent a tweet on Tuesday showing his gratitude for the honor.
“Outside of my bloodline, I really think that, no matter what, this is a blessing to be able to go to a university like this and play football,” Blades said. “If you add the bloodline into this, it adds on a lot of emotional things for me. But, it really is just a blessing and I just take it in day by day.”
The youngest Blades has always had to deal with the pressure that comes with his last name. Coming from a football family filled with Hurricanes stars meant all eyes were on him to uphold the legacy his father and uncles established before him.
“I think like he mentioned, he has had a lot of practice at that because he has had that name his whole life, dealing with all that,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “But now the fact that he has got the number ‘7’ shirt on, and he has got a ‘U’ on the side of the helmet, it takes it to a different level. However he’s doing it, the way it shows on the field is obvious that he handles it in a positive manner.”
Blades Jr. grew up immersed in Hurricanes football. As a baby, he was on campus with Al Sr. and spent his life attending games with his family.
“Growing up, I don’t ever remember being out here because I was like 3 and I was very young,” Blades Jr. said. “So it really was just me growing up and watching the games. I just felt the atmosphere in my own household and seeing the love they have for a team.”
Blades Jr. bears a resemblance to his father, Al Sr., who passed away in a car crash in 2003. The younger Blades and has always heard that he is just like his dad and is honored when people tell him that, even if he has few memories of his father.
“It means a lot, but it is nothing new for me,” Blades Jr. said. “Growing up with a mom that was around him all the time and aunties and family and to hear them say I’m just a reincarnation of him, it is something that is just tagged along with me now. All I can do is just be myself and if I symbolize him then that’s just what happens.”
Blades Jr. learned of his captaincy before Tuesday’s practice, when head coach Mark Richt met with the team just before practice began.
“I had no idea what was going on,” Blades Jr. said. “He was just naming captains and me being a freshman, I wasn’t really expecting my name to be called. But he called my name and I was still in just disbelief. I went around practice asking, ‘does that mean I’m going to be a captain?'”
The news was made public when Richt announced the captains later that afternoon at his weekly press conference and Blades Jr.’s phone and social media accounts erupted with congratulatory calls and messages from his famous uncles, other family and friends, as well as Canes fans who are excited to see what the fourth Blades to play for the Canes will do at The U.
“I had a lot of people, in general, congratulating me, which means a lot to me,” Blades Jr. said.
“I can’t remember off the top of my head who called me because I had a lot of people reaching out,” Blades Jr. said. “But I definitely felt welcome and felt the U family.”
Blades Jr. earned his captaincy for the week by excelling on special teams over the first two games of the season. He becomes only the second freshmen to ever be named a captain in Richt’s tenure, joining Travis Homer in 2016.
“I told him – not just him, the whole group in the meeting room – his performance through the first two games really reminded me of what [Travis] Homer did for us his freshman year,” special teams coordinator Todd Hartley said. “A guy that came in, didn’t say much, wanted to be on the depth chart, worked his butt off at practice – you put him in game situations and he showed out. His performance is what earned him that spot. He’s a kid that, at the end of the [Savannah State] game, you’re trying to get some other kids that don’t normally play in the game, and I’m like, ‘Hey Al, why don’t you take this rep off so we can put someone else in there?’ He says, ‘No, I’m not coming out.’ And I said, ‘Alright, well get back in there then.’ He’s a guy that tells me he wants to be in there. He’s a really good football player. He has great speed, he’s a great tackler, he has the right mindset and the right mentality to be an unbelievable special teams player. For a kid to be a captain Game 3 of his freshman year, that says a lot about the kid.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Blades Jr. has taken to heart the coaching staff’s preaching of maximum effort on every rep. Whether he is in the defensive backfield or on special teams, he does not hold anything back when he is on the field.
“I just give 110% every play,” Blades Jr. said. “Whether it is on kick off or on punt, every play, we watch film and you see me, I just try to be the first guy down the field. I try to be the first to the ball, no matter what it is, even tackle to the floor. I just try to get to the ball. No matter what it is, I just give all my effort.”
A consensus four-star recruit out of high school football powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Blades has adjusted quickly to college football.
“The transition from high school to college usually doesn’t have anything to do with their physical ability or their talent,” Diaz said. “All of our guys are talented. It’s the ones who mentally have that maturity to compete at that next level. Al stood out very early in training camp as a guy that was just not in awe of the speed of the game out here. Trajan Bandy gets kicked out of the game on the fourth play of the game against LSU, guess what? Al Blades, you’re the nickel. Maybe one of the most intimidating settings in all of college football, at Cowboys Stadium, and Al goes right in there and plays like he’s playing catch in his backyard. Obviously, there’s something in his mental makeup and in his wiring that makes him believe that nothing is ever too big for him. He feels very confident in every situation he’s in.”
“Honestly for me, I’m the type of kid when I go in, it is kind of like tunnel vision for me,” Blades Jr. said. “Once I’m on the field, I don’t really see the crowd. It’s just me, my teammates, and Coach Diaz on the sideline calling the plays. Once I got in, I was shaking a little on the sideline, but once I got in, I was like this is what we do, this is what we practice every week. So it was just like roll with the punches from there.”
After enrolling at Miami over the summer, Blades Jr. was a quick study of the Hurricanes’ playbook. But it’s the things he has learned beyond the plays that have helped elevate him early in his career.
“I just learned hustle, demeanor and attitude is everything,” Blades Jr. said. “No matter how good or attitude I came in with, you can always improve. I learned that the little things do matter and you just have to take in what your coaches tell you and just play hard.”
Blades Jr. and his Hurricane teammates are diligently preparing to face an explosive Toledo Rockets team that is looking to earn a top-25 win on its home field.
“We’re coming out here every day and we are preparing,” Blades Jr. said. “The only team that can beat us is us. So we are preparing every day to go out there and give 100% and just play ball.”
A leader by example with his play and his work ethic, Blades Jr. has impressed Richt, Diaz, Hartley and cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph. His effort on the field, in the meeting rooms and in the weight room have earned him his captaincy for the Toledo game and may earn him much more.
“Al has come in and just competed extremely well,” Richt said. “He does a super job on every team. Coach Hartley really appreciates it when a true freshman can come in and understand the importance of that part of the game and have the skillset and the demeanor to take care of business. We’re not afraid to honor a true freshman as a captain throughout the season. If he keeps it up, who knows? He may become a permanent captain by the end. That’s kind of how we do it.”
Miami’s coaches select the weekly captains and the team votes at the end of the season to name the captains for the season. While Blades Jr. is just focused on helping his team with every rep he takes, the freshman admits it would be an honor to earn that distinction from his peers.
“Oh, most definitely,” Blades Jr. said. “That is definitely something you want, is to be a permanent captain of a team with a bunch of leaders. So to be seen as a leader amongst leaders is something you would want.”
