Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Travis Blanks' Hard Work Pays, On and Off Field

Watching film can tell you a lot about a player's athletic abilities. One look at Travis Blanks' film will put the viewer in awe of his facemask-bending, open-field tackles and his incredible angles of pursuit.

Talking to Blanks, one gets a whole different story; he is just as proud of being a member of the National Honor Society as he is of the 29 offers that he has from major universities across the country.

At 6'1", 190 pounds, this 4-star defensive back from Tallahassee takes training to a whole new dimension. In the summer before his junior year he was clocked at 4.84 in the 40. Fast forward one year and Blanks has shaved over 0.4 seconds off his time.

"Hard work and getting more mature," was how Blanks described it.

Travis Blanks is the kind of player that a coach wants on the field as much as possible: 35 receptions and eight touchdowns and two punt returns for touchdowns. When asked what position would suit him best at the next level, Blanks was quick to say, "Definitely defense, I love the contact."

One of the big offensive statistics is yards after initial contact—there are no yards after contact with Blanks. He delivers punishing hits and stops ball carriers cold. With 190 tackles and eight interceptions over the past two seasons, Blanks thrives on contact.

As impressive as these numbers are, Travis Blanks would just as soon talk about another important number, his GPA. "I'm a member of the National Honor Society. We do a lot of work in the community. I have a GPA of 3.4," he said.

Hard work on the field and in the classroom is the main reason why Blanks has 29 offers on the table right now. "Nebraska, Stanford and USC offered last week," he said. They join other big-time institutions such as Notre Dame, Alabama, Auburn and Florida State in the quest for this young man's talents.

One thing is certain: Wherever Travis Blanks chooses to further his education will benefit from having him. He is an immediate impact player on defense and an immediate impact person in the classroom.