Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Offseason football position breakdown: Safeties
6/14/2020 5:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Heading into the 2020 season, Middle Tennessee features a safety group that has some experience and is extremely versatile. The only question is how healthy the group's two leaders are.
Perennial all-conference performer Reed Blankenship was well on his way to another All-Conference USA First Team selection before suffering a broken leg against North Texas in the team's seventh game, costing him the remaining five contests. Then, after filling in admirably for Blankenship for the last five games, Kylan Stribling was forced to undergo knee and shoulder surgeries this offseason.
The seniors are slated to start alongside each other in 2020 — Stribling will likely fill the void at strong safety left by all-time great Jovante Moffatt — and while this offseason has been strange because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both have rehabbed well.
"I am 100 percent confident that I am as good as new," Blankenship said in a recent feature on goblueraiders.com. "As far as where I am, I guess that will be determined when I get back on the field in a game situation."
Blankenship and Stribling might get the starting nods when the Blue Raiders take the field against Duke for the season opener Sept. 5, but expect to see more names from the group on the field. Junior Gregory Grate Jr., sophomore Decorian Patterson and redshirt freshmen Marvae Myers-Glover, Marcus Lafrance and Darius McClendon are versatile players who can line up anywhere in the defensive backfield, from safety to outside corner and even nickel corner.
"When we go out and recruit kids, we like kids who can play multiple positions," defensive coordinator and safeties coach Scott Shafer said. "That's always been a piece in the thought process."
While he's obviously excited about the leadership Blankenship and Stribling will bring to the defense, Shafer is eager for the chance to get back on the field to see his younger players in action, whatever position they may be lined up in.
"We have some young guys I'm really excited about," he said. "They showed a lot of promise, but we had to move them around a little bit last year to protect their redshirts. I think they're all good tacklers and have a good nose for the ball."
Here are the safeties on the roster:
Projected starters
Reed Blankenship, Sr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/196
Hometown: Athens, Alabama
• Started 7 games in 2019; missed last 5 games due to injury
• Second Team All-C-USA in 2019; First Team in 2018; All-Freshman Team in 2017
• 58 tackles (fourth on team), 2 INTs, 3 pass breakups in 2019
• Enters 2020 with 233 career tackles, 8 INTs
Kylan Stribling, R-Sr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/198
Hometown: Thompson's Station, Tennessee (Independence High School)
• Played in 12 games in 2019; started the last 5 games in place of Blankenship
• Career-best 41 tackles, 1.0 TFLs, 1 INT (returned for TD), 4 pass breakups in 2019
• Team's sophomore academic award winner (2018); freshman academic award winner (2017)
• Scored on a blocked punt return against UAB in 2017
Rest of the bunch
Gregory Grate Jr., Jr.
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/186
Hometown: Miami
• Played in all 12 games in 2019 with 6 starts (all at cornerback)
• 43 tackles (sixth on team), 2.0 TFLs, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble in 2019
• Played in 13 games with 2 starts as a freshman; returned a 97-yard INT for a TD against UTM
Decorian Patterson, R-So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/186
Hometown: Ocala, Florida
• Played in 12 games with 1 start in 2019; played both safety and cornerback
• 39 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, team-high 6 pass breakups in 2019
• Earned team's most improved safety award following 2019 spring practice
Marvae Myers-Glover, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/185
Hometown: West Orlando, Florida
• Played in 3 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Had 4 tackles against Marshall in first collegiate game
Marcus Lafrance, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/190
Hometown: North Lauderdale, Florida
• Played in 2 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports out of Deerfield Beach High School
Darius McClendon, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/186
Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida
• Played in 3 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Named the Defensive MVP of the 2018 Palm Beach County All-Star game
Kyle Kee, R-So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Hometown: Naples, Florida
• Took a redshirt in 2018; didn't appear in any games in 2019
Perennial all-conference performer Reed Blankenship was well on his way to another All-Conference USA First Team selection before suffering a broken leg against North Texas in the team's seventh game, costing him the remaining five contests. Then, after filling in admirably for Blankenship for the last five games, Kylan Stribling was forced to undergo knee and shoulder surgeries this offseason.
The seniors are slated to start alongside each other in 2020 — Stribling will likely fill the void at strong safety left by all-time great Jovante Moffatt — and while this offseason has been strange because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both have rehabbed well.
"I am 100 percent confident that I am as good as new," Blankenship said in a recent feature on goblueraiders.com. "As far as where I am, I guess that will be determined when I get back on the field in a game situation."
Blankenship and Stribling might get the starting nods when the Blue Raiders take the field against Duke for the season opener Sept. 5, but expect to see more names from the group on the field. Junior Gregory Grate Jr., sophomore Decorian Patterson and redshirt freshmen Marvae Myers-Glover, Marcus Lafrance and Darius McClendon are versatile players who can line up anywhere in the defensive backfield, from safety to outside corner and even nickel corner.
"When we go out and recruit kids, we like kids who can play multiple positions," defensive coordinator and safeties coach Scott Shafer said. "That's always been a piece in the thought process."
While he's obviously excited about the leadership Blankenship and Stribling will bring to the defense, Shafer is eager for the chance to get back on the field to see his younger players in action, whatever position they may be lined up in.
"We have some young guys I'm really excited about," he said. "They showed a lot of promise, but we had to move them around a little bit last year to protect their redshirts. I think they're all good tacklers and have a good nose for the ball."
Here are the safeties on the roster:
Projected starters
Reed Blankenship, Sr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/196
Hometown: Athens, Alabama
• Started 7 games in 2019; missed last 5 games due to injury
• Second Team All-C-USA in 2019; First Team in 2018; All-Freshman Team in 2017
• 58 tackles (fourth on team), 2 INTs, 3 pass breakups in 2019
• Enters 2020 with 233 career tackles, 8 INTs
Kylan Stribling, R-Sr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/198
Hometown: Thompson's Station, Tennessee (Independence High School)
• Played in 12 games in 2019; started the last 5 games in place of Blankenship
• Career-best 41 tackles, 1.0 TFLs, 1 INT (returned for TD), 4 pass breakups in 2019
• Team's sophomore academic award winner (2018); freshman academic award winner (2017)
• Scored on a blocked punt return against UAB in 2017
Rest of the bunch
Gregory Grate Jr., Jr.
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/186
Hometown: Miami
• Played in all 12 games in 2019 with 6 starts (all at cornerback)
• 43 tackles (sixth on team), 2.0 TFLs, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble in 2019
• Played in 13 games with 2 starts as a freshman; returned a 97-yard INT for a TD against UTM
Decorian Patterson, R-So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/186
Hometown: Ocala, Florida
• Played in 12 games with 1 start in 2019; played both safety and cornerback
• 39 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, team-high 6 pass breakups in 2019
• Earned team's most improved safety award following 2019 spring practice
Marvae Myers-Glover, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-0/185
Hometown: West Orlando, Florida
• Played in 3 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Had 4 tackles against Marshall in first collegiate game
Marcus Lafrance, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/190
Hometown: North Lauderdale, Florida
• Played in 2 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports out of Deerfield Beach High School
Darius McClendon, R-Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/186
Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida
• Played in 3 games and took a redshirt in 2019
• Named the Defensive MVP of the 2018 Palm Beach County All-Star game
Kyle Kee, R-So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/195
Hometown: Naples, Florida
• Took a redshirt in 2018; didn't appear in any games in 2019
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
CB
/ Football
S
/ FootballFriday, April 03
Thursday, March 19
Monday, March 16
Tuesday, January 13
