MU’s Kendall Blanton hopes for a breakthrough like other former Blue Springs South stars

Kendall Blanton can’t help being a little jealous.

Blanton — a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end from Blue Springs South, who is entering his redshirt sophomore season with Missouri — went to high school with Kevin Puryear and Justin Pitts.

Puryear, a 2015 Blue Springs South graduate, led the Tigers’ basketball team in scoring last season and was elected to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team in early March.

Pitts, a 2013 Blue Springs South graduate, now plays point guard at Northwest Missouri State. He is a two-time Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association first-team selection, the 2015 MIAA freshman of the year and the 2016 MIAA player of the year.

Pitts led the Bearcats to the NCAA Division II central regional final and scored 34 in a 80-78 loss against eventual national champion Augustana (S.D.) University.

Meanwhile, Blanton appeared in eight games last season, primarily on special teams, and has yet to record a catch in a college game.

He hopes his time to shine is coming.

“It’s motivation,” Blanton said. “They all get together back home and say, ‘Oh, KP, what a great season.’ I want to hear that sometimes, but it’s motivation. Those guys know that I’m coming for them. I’m coming for that spotlight, too.”

When he signed with Mizzou, Blanton was something of a lightly regarded prospect.

ESPN and 247 Sports pegged Blanton as a three-star recruit with the former rating him as the No. 8 player in Missouri and No. 12 in-line tight end in the 2014 recruiting class.

Rivals tabbed him as a two-star prospect and he didn’t receive a grade from Scout.

Blanton isn’t known to have had any other offers, but Kentucky, Louisville and Tulsa were among other teams that showed some level of interest in recruiting him.

He was always considered “raw,” which is a euphemism for athletically gifted but not terrifically skilled.

“I haven’t been on the field yet in a game (at tight end), so I can’t say I’ve shed that label,” Blanton said, “but I like everybody doubting me who doubts me. … I’m really focused on my intensity and just overall competitiveness, trying to be better than anybody I lined up in front of every down and trying to make big plays for my team. I’ve got the mentality that I want to be great.”

New Tigers tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley praised the growth he’s already seen during the first months of the offseason. He said Blanton’s route-running and blocking have improved and he’s beginning to pair his natural physical gifts with a firm grasp of proper techniques.

“If he uses great technique with great effort, he’s going to have a hard time getting beat,” Finley said. “He’s making big strides. He made a big jump in the offseason and his workouts, and it’s showing out here on the field. He’s putting a lot into it, and he’s getting a lot out.”

The elder statesman in Missouri’s tight ends room, senior Sean Culkin, also has seen Blanton’s surge and believes he’s ready to contribute along with junior tight end Jason Reese.

“As he came in, you could see the potential,” Culkin said of Blanton. “Through the weight room and also through film study, his maturity and how he answers questions, how he looks at football and sees the fronts, you can see he’s starting to expand in that area and it’s starting to carry over onto the field. He’s a guy with a lot of upside, and I’m excited for him.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 8:23 AM with the headline "MU’s Kendall Blanton hopes for a breakthrough like other former Blue Springs South stars."