Long Beach Poly High School wide receiver Josiah Blandin wasn’t able to unleash his full talents on the football field as a senior playmaker for the Jackrabbits. Injuries, not enough balls thrown his way and stiff competition at one of the most storied high school football powers in the nation, chipped into Blandin being able to showcase what he can do.
Blandin has the tools to be a great playmaker at the next level:great hands, decent speed and superb route-running. Last spring, Blandin fretted over not getting concrete offers to attend school and play football. He doesn’t have to fret anymore. Arizona State saw enough of the 6-foot-4, 185-pound wide receiver to offer him an athletic scholarship with the school.
On national letter-of-Intent signing day, the first day where college football players and seniors in winter and fall sports announce and can officially ink their signature on a piece a paper to say what school they’re committed to, Blandin was more than relieved.
The decision of where he was going to spend the next four years of his life was made a short while ago for the soon-to-be business management major. Blandin and his mother, Shelly, took a trip to Arizona State to cement that decision. Everything felt like a perfect fit to Blandin, who said he expects to compete for playing time next year as a freshman.
“When I took my visit to Arizona State, I fell in love right then and there,” Blandin said in an interview with News4usonline.com. “It’s the school I’ve always wanted to go to. I felt right at home. I feel like I will get a great opportunity there. They have five senior receivers leaving this year as I come in, so the opportunity for me to play is there. I just have to work for it. They have a great academic program. The academic coaches are great. They’ll give me a better chance to get my degree and graduate.”
Before he made his decision where he will attend college, Blandin was courted by other schools. But the close proximity to his mother and the chance to play right away far outweighed his other options, Blandin said.
“It feels good. It was really stressful making all the right decisions that will help you improve in life for the next four years and for you to be somewhere you want to be,” said Blandin.
Blandin, who caught 29 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns this past season, said playing at Poly has given him the tools to be successful at the next level and beyond.
“When you’re at Poly…everybody is a leader there,” Blandin said. “They prepare you well. You learn how to be a leader. The competition is always high at Poly, so when you go to college-the competition is nothing new for you because it’s always at a high level.”
That competition has always made Poly one of the best high school sports and academic programs in the nation. Poly has sent more football players to the NFL than any other prep program in the country. In 2005, Sports illustrated named Poly as “Sports School of the Century,” which defines the prowess of the public school. And each year, Poly rolls out top-tier athletic talent that universities scramble for.
This year is no different. Including, Blandin, 17 Poly athletes, including nine football players, signed college letters of intent inside the school’s auditorium on the first day high school student-athletes can declare what institutions of higher learning they’ll be attending.
Breeyon Alexander, a shooting guard on the Jackrabbits girls basketball team, was one of those students. Alexander stayed close to home and is headed to Cal State Northridge. Being close to where her family can see her play factored in her college-choice decision big-time, she said.
“It was close to home so family can come see me,” Alexander said. “I really liked the coaching staff there and the basketball program is great. I should be able to add to the program. I think I’ve got the best defense in the world. I know I’ll blend in well with the girls that already there. The winning attitude at Poly it will carry over at Northridge… I’m looking forward to playing basketball at Northridge.”
Deon Reid Jr., armed with multiple California Interscholastic Federation Masters titles in diving, was another one of those Poly athletes to formally sign on the dotted line. Reid had verbally committed to Duke University in the fall. Courted by major universities such as Notre Dame and Berkeley, among other schools, Reid, a rarity in the sport in that he is African American, sees himself as someone who can be a future trailblazer.
“I feel like I’ve got some goals to accomplish by being a minority in the sport,” Reid said “I feel like I want to make history because I’m successful in this sport, and because I am also a minority. If I were to do that it would be like a milestone. Maybe I can be a Tiger Woods or Serena Williams or something like that. The fact that I can mix great diving and great academics was the perfect package I was looking for.”
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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