Led by sister Kelsey, this Mizzou tight end and NFL hopeful is supported by family
It’s 10 a.m. in Columbia and Kelsey Blanton is glued to NFL Network.
While most Mizzou freshmen might still be sleeping on this particular Saturday morning, 18-year-old Kelsey is wide awake. Six hours away, her brother Kendall is going through the most important job interview of his life so far, and it’s being broadcast across the country.
She watched as Kendall ran the 40-yard dash and went through on-field drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, comparing him to the other tight end hopefuls in the 2019 draft class.
Though Kendall, a Mizzou product, comes from a football family spearheaded by patriarch Jerry, a former Chiefs linebacker, it’s Kelsey who tries to keep the closest tabs on her brother’s football career.
“I like to know everything that’s going on and understand it from all points of like the game,” Kelsey said. “So I know when Kendall’s doing good and when he’s not doing so good. I’m very vocal, so I’m not afraid to tell him what he needs to work on.
“I don’t know if I know the most (in the family) because my dad played in the league and my brother played football all his life, but I’m sure trying to learn.”
For the longest time, Kelsey and Kendall played basketball growing up and their lives revolved around the hardwood. Once Kendall began to pursue football, Kelsey started to take an interest in the sport. Kendall talked about football all the time, and she wanted to know what was going on. To do that, she started studying everything about it.
“She knows a lot,” Kendall said. “Like if I was to pay attention to all of that, where am I going, I’d call her and she’ll tell me. … She’ll get mad about things, more than I would. If I have a bad game, she’s more mad than I am. But I love her to death.”
After Kendall’s college games, Kelsey reviewed her brother’s game with him. She’d offer compliments when he did something well and constructive criticism when she noticed things he needed to work on.
“If he messed up like a block or something or he could’ve caught a pass that he dropped, I let him know,” she said. “I’m never ridiculously critical because I don’t know everything, but I just try to give it to him before anyone else does. It’s a little sweeter coming from your sister, I’d say.”
In the season leading up to this year’s combine, Kelsey scrutinized the rest of the tight ends in her brother’s class. During the week, she watched YouTube clips of the other players, using them to compare her brother’s abilities to theirs. And if she couldn’t find the videos, she had other ways of checking in on the competition.
“I’ll look at statistics and highlights from the previous week to see their stats, how many catches, how many passes they’re getting thrown, how well they’re blocking and just seeing what others do,” she said. “I don’t do it just for college. I also watch and compare them to NFL tight ends and see where each stand or who I can compare him to, if anyone. I just study everything just so I know what he’s going up against.”
Kendall and Kelsey’s dad laughs when he’s asked where Kelsey’s love of football comes from. Sure, there’s probably some family influence at play, but she’s really fallen in love with the sport and made it her own, he said.
“She’s on top of the game,” Jerry said. “She can tell you about every tight end, how big they are, how fast they are, what Kendall needs to do in this combine. She probably knows more about what he needs to do than I do.”
Because she’s just a freshman, her future isn’t exactly set in stone. Right now, Kelsey wants to be an athletic trainer, but scouting or broadcasting could be in her future.
“I’ve thought about it,” she said. “People suggest it to me quite often. … I’m not 100 percent sure yet, but I’d be up for it, for sure.”
In the on-field workouts Saturday, Blanton ran a 4.95 40-yard dash, the slowest among the tight ends who participated. And his 60-yard dash and 20-yard dash times were also some of the slowest among the position.
While his times were disappointing in the combine, Blanton’s game tape is more encouraging. He made a mark as a strong blocking tight end, and this season, he also worked on catching passes. He also played on the kickoff return and PAT units, making him even more valuable to NFL teams.
He finished his senior season at Mizzou with 22 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest advantage in this class is his size. Checking in at 6-6, 262 pounds, Blanton is one of the bigger bodies in the group.
Kendall doesn’t check his draft projections, but Kelsey has her own theories. Right now, though, she thinks the possibilities are wide open.
“I just hope he gets drafted,” Kelsey said. I just hope he makes a team. It could go anywhere from 4-7, to free agent. It’s whatever’s in God’s plan, I guess.”
But if Kendall followed in his dad’s footsteps and wound up with the Chiefs, Kelsey would be pretty happy.
“I’d love it,” she said. “He’d be close to home so I could see him often. I’d be all for him going to the Chiefs.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Led by sister Kelsey, this Mizzou tight end and NFL hopeful is supported by family."