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Meet the Tennessee Football Newcomers: Vols LB Ja’Quain Blakely

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 7, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of flag after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocksat Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports. Tennessee won 27 to 24.
Nov 7, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of flag after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocksat Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports. Tennessee won 27 to 24. /
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Here is an analysis of incoming 2016 Tennessee football recruit Ja’Quain Blakely, who joins the Vols as a linebacker.

Ja’Quain Blakely is one of two highly rated linebackers Butch Jones brought in from the 2016 recruiting class after the departure of Curt Maggitt, who missed the majority of the 2015 season anyway.

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That spells a lot more depth for the Volunteers going into this year, and it also sets them up nicely for the future.

Blakely is a four-star linebacker on Rivals who comes in at 6’2″ 210 pounds. The Moultrie, Ga. native out of Colquitt County High School committed to the Vols back in August and is part of the athletic Georgia pipeline to Tennessee.

He is listed as an inside linebacker on Rivals but an outside linebacker on 247Sports, so where he ends up playing will probably be determined by the amount of weight he puts on in Knoxville.

Early Analysis

Ja’Quain Blakely’s entire skill set can be attributed to one major factor: speed. The linebacker would have been a perfect fit for the systems John Chavis ran all those years at Tennessee.

One look at his tape shows his ability to run down quarterbacks at full-speed with no hesitation and even change directions as if he didn’t lose a step. That’s another important point, showing that the quickness is there as well.

But to succeed at the next level, Blakely’s going to have to develop some discipline. He got away with over-pursuing a lot in high school. Players are too fast in the SEC to let him do that too much, so playing in better position will be crucial.

Also, Blakely could stand to put on a few more pounds. He won’t be able to just to a spin move on every outside blocker in college, and he won’t be able to so easily wrap everybody up.

The raw speed and quickness is there, but learning to play assignment football and putting on some strength will help.

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What Ja’Quain Blakely Brings to Tennessee

With his type of athleticism and style of play, Ja’Quain Blakely is an outside linebacker clone of Jalen Reeves-Maybin. He has not demonstrated the discipline Reeves-Maybin had arriving in Knoxville, but he definitely has the athleticism and even better size.

Blakely will provide immediate and much-needed depth at the outside linebacker spot, as the Vols are still unproven beyond Reeves-Maybin. With Darrin Kirkland Jr. in the middle rounding out the only two guys Butch Jones and Bob Shoop can rely on, Blakely has a chance to see some action too.

There will certainly be competition to be in the rotation at linebacker, and when they go to true 4-3 sets, the other starter has still not been confirmed yet.

As a result, Blakely and incoming linebacker Daniel Bituli may be competing heavily in August to become a regular player in the defensive rotation for the 2016 season.

If not, Blakely will definitely be a good player for the Vols and likely a starter in the years to come. He has lots of potential to succeed early on.

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