Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge: Al Blades steps up yet again
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INDIANAPOLIS – Al Blades jumped to the front of the line, sought out the best receivers and lined up to go against them time and again.
The four-star cornerback from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas was one reason why the one-on-one session at Saturday's Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas was so entertaining.
He dominated at times, looked great always and proved once again he’s one of the top corners in the country.
“I don’t see myself with any stars; I don’t see myself with anything,” Blades said. “I come out here and every rep I’m taking is to get better and to dominate my opponent.
“It’s not really about embarrassing my opponent. It’s about me getting better. After every rep I go to the coaches to ask what I could do to get better on that rep. Even if I win that rep it still doesn’t mean anything because you still could have gotten better and not made any mistakes.”
For Blades, getting up for another camp in the long string of events he’s participated in through the years isn’t challenging. He was energetic and excited all morning, ready to prove something in every rep he took.
During the quarterback challenge portion of camp, while most campers were resting up near midfield, Blades was spotted dancing to Michael Jackson’s "Billie Jean". He’s out here having fun. He’s being a kid.
“When you love the game, it’s not really hard,” Blades said. “It’s who I am. It’s just in me.”
The St. Thomas Aquinas recruit is fantastic – and rated as the third-best cornerback in the state of Florida. That’s how loaded the group is in that talent-rich state with five-star Patrick Surtain from Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage and Aquinas teammate Asante Samuel ahead of him in the rankings.
Blades, who is almost all but locked up to Miami, is sixth at cornerback nationally.
“When I look at those guys and I see them above me it’s nothing but love and I feel like if people think he’s better than me then I’ll go to him and see what he does and learn from them and pick up some things from what they’re doing,” Blades said.
“I’m just trying to be the best me I can be. I’m not really worried about who’s above me or who’s below me. I can learn from anyone. Somebody who’s not as good as you, you can learn something from them.”
Rivals.com Southeast Recruiting Analyst Rob Cassidy said Blades’ early session performance was the best he’s ever seen him. National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell is in agreement.
Blades was that noteworthy.
“He was much more patient and he didn’t bite on any moves,” Farrell said. “His biggest problem is that he tends to guess too much and he wasn’t doing that at all. He went head-to-head against the nation’s top receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown and won some of those reps. That really hasn’t been done before.”
