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Draft Scout College Football Player News: Middle Tennessee

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11/28/20 - Bailey Hockman, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Bailey Hockman hit Emeka Emezie with a 26-yard go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter and connected with Thayer Thomas for three more scores through the air and North Carolina State rallied to defeat Syracuse 36-29 Saturday. The win was the third straight for the Wolfpack (7-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) and the seventh consecutive loss for the Orange (1-9, 1-8). Linebacker Payton Wilson sacked Syracuse quarterback Rex Culpepper for a loss 11 yards on a third-and-seven from the Wolfpack 7-yard line with 24 seconds remaining to preserve the win.

The Syracuse defense came out strong, sacking Hockman four times, intercepting a pass, registering six tackles for loss and forcing a safety, all in the first half. Syracuse held a 22-14 advantage at the break, the team's first halftime lead since game three, a 37-20 victory over Georgia Tech. The Orange clung to a 29-27 lead after three but was held scoreless the rest of the way. Emezie's score with 14:14 to go gave the Wolfpack the lead for good. - AP College Football

rSr/2022

QB Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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11/27/20 - Robert Jones, Sr/2021, Middle Tennessee + More +

Rob Jones' path through football has been far from that of a traditional college football player. Jones grew up in the neighborhoods of Chicago and played basketball and idolized Derrick Rose. He had the size, standing at 6-foot-5, but at more than 300 pounds, he was built more like a football player. Enter David Hampton and Gary Griffin. Hampton convinced Jones to play football. Two years later, Griffin was Jones' coach in his lone varsity season as a senior and helped him plot a course to earn a college scholarship. Four years later, Jones has transformed himself into an NFL prospect at Middle Tennessee State with hopes of one day getting his family into a better situation.

"Growing up in Chicago, it can be rough," said Jones, who was raised by a single mom. "It was easier falling into the trap that you see others fall into like gangbanging and dropping out of school like that and I made some bad decisions but I had my family who tried to keep me on the right track. I lost friends and everything like that and I knew that I didn't want that sort of life for myself. "That just motivated me to do better. Seeing what my mom had to go through at times, she always believed in me and always pushed me so I always just want to give her the best. I just wanted it all to be different." - Daily News Journal

Sr/2021

OG Robert Jones, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Daily News Journal
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11/21/20 - Chaton Mobley, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

Chaton Mobley and Frank Peasant had touchdown runs and Middle Tennessee shut out Troy for most of the second half for a 20-17 victory on Saturday. Troy (4-4) was without second-year coach Chip Lindsey, who announced Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Mobley scored on a 4-yard run and Peasant a 5-yarder in the first half, each capping long drives for Middle Tennessee (3-6). Crews Holt's 22-yard field goal stretched the Blue Raiders' lead to 17-10 at halftime, and his 49-yard field goal made it 20-10 with 5:20 remaining. Asher O'Hara was 19-of-23 passing for 210 yards and added 86 yards rushing on 25 carries for Middle Tennessee. Mobley finished with 57 yards rushing and Peasant had 25. Gunnar Watson's 8-yard touchdown pass to Khalil McClain capped an 11-play, 85-yard drive for the Trojans with 28 seconds left. Watson was 25 of 39 for 300 yards passing but threw two interceptions. McClain had six catches for 92 yards. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rSr/2023

RB Chaton Mobley, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
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11/14/20 - Bailey Hockman, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Bailey Hockman threw for three touchdowns and ran for another against his former team as North Carolina State defeated Florida State 38-22 on Saturday night. Hockman, who began his collegiate career in 2017 at Florida State, was 24-for-34 for 265 yards and an interception. Thayer Thomas, a redshirt senior, made a career-high 11 catches for a career-best 135 yards and two touchdowns. NC State (5-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a two-game skid. Freshman Chubba Purdy got his first career start for Florida State, completing 15 of 23 passes for 181 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Seminoles (2-6, 1-6) have lost three straight games since upsetting then-No. 5 North Carolina. - AP College Football

rSr/2022

QB Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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10/26/20 - Jalen Jackson, rSr/2025, Middle Tennessee + More +

OCT 26 CONFERENCE USA SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Middle Tennessee redshirt freshman CB Jalen Jackson helped Middle Tennessee come out on top in the two-overtime affair at Rice on Saturday with a dramatic special teams play. He came off the edge and made a diving play to block Rice's go-ahead field goal attempt in the Owls' possession of the second overtime. Jackson's block allowed for the Blue Raiders to win on a score of any kind on the ensuing possession, when MT quarterback Asher O'Hara scampered into the end zone for a walk-off style win. Jackson recorded two tackles and a pass breakup on the defensive side of the ball. - Conference USA Football

rSr/2025

CB Jalen Jackson, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Conference USA Football
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10/23/20 - Bailey Hockman, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Bailey Hockman needs no introduction. The redshirt junior quarterback has played in several games so far at N.C. State. But with the emergence of redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary, who has started the Wolfpack's last three games, it looked like Hockman could be a reserve the rest of the season. However, after Leary was carted off the field in the second half of N.C State's win over Duke on Saturday and had surgery to repair his fibula the next day, Hockman will be back on the field for the Wolfpack. Leary is expected to miss 4-8 weeks to recover and coach Dave Doeren said he doesn't anticipate him returning this year.

Hockman, who's 6-2 and 200 pounds and is from Powder Springs, Ga., started two games in 2019 and the first two games of the 2020 season. He'll now be the starter Saturday when the No. 23 Wolfpack (4-1, 4-1 ACC) heads to Chapel Hill (3-1, 3-1) to face off with No. 14 UNC. "I can't say enough about guys who stepped up in their roles," Doeren said. Hockman entered the game against Duke after Leary was injured. N.C. State was up by one. Hockman led the team on a scoring drive, tossing a nine-yard touchdown to redshirt junior wide receiver Thayer Thomas to start the fourth quarter. Hockman only threw seven passes against the Blue Devils, completing four, for 43 yards as N.C. State relied on the run game with a double-digit lead late in the game. Against the Tar Heels, though, much more will be expected of Hockman, who has appeared in 10 games for the Wolfpack, with mixed results. - Raleigh News Observer

rSr/2022

QB Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Raleigh News Observer
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10/17/20 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

It's hard to imagine a year much more trying than what Reed Blankenship has gone through. Middle Tennessee's star senior safety suffered a gruesome broken leg in the team's seventh game of the 2019 season against North Texas. Then, after having surgery and rehabbing, the COVID-19 pandemic threw multiple wrenches into his preparation for the 2020 campaign. Now, he's gearing up for a rematch with North Texas almost a year to the day after the injury. To say the matchup is bringing about added emotions is almost an understatement. "I think I have something to prove, especially after coming back from that," Blankenship said. "It's pretty special to me, so I'm just trying to grind as much as I can this week so I'm ready."

Blankenship was having a banner junior season until the injury. In seven games, he recorded 58 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble, as well as two blocked kicks. Even without playing the last five games, he still did enough to earn All-Conference-USA Second Team honors, the third year in a row he was named all-conference, adding to an honorable mention nod as a freshman and first team as a sophomore. He was drawing the interest of NFL scouts from around the league until the injury, which was bad enough that a weaker man might've hung up his cleats. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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10/02/20 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill announced Thursday the permanent captains for the Blue Raiders in 2020. Safety Reed Blankenship, defensive tackle Jordan Ferguson, wide receiver Jarrin Pierce and linebacker DQ Thomas, were honored as the 15th group of permanent captains in the FBS era at Middle Tennessee. The team voted on the four captains, and Coach Stockstill made the announcement during a team meeting this week. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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10/01/20 - Jarrin Pierce, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Jarrin Pierce has been the one bright spot on an offense that has struggled. Becoming O'Hara's safety blanket for any passes downfield, Pierce ranks 17th in the country in receiving yards with 221 on 22 catches. Against Troy, Pierce hauled in a career-high 11 receptions for 81 yards. He followed that up with seven receptions for 107 yards against UTSA. - Daily News Journal

rSr/2022

WR Jarrin Pierce, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Daily News Journal
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09/23/20 - Bailey Hockman, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

There will be no surprises to who will take the snaps under center when N.C. State takes on Virginia Tech this Saturday in Blacksburg. Bailey Hockman, who started the Wolfpack's 45-42 season-opener against Wake Forest this past Saturday, was listed over Devin Leary on N.C. State's two-deep depth chart released Monday. Hockman, a transfer from Florida State, completed 70 percent of his throws against the Demon Deacons, finishing with 191 yards passing and a touchdown. Leary beat out Hockman for the starting spot in the spring, but missed 20 practices due to COVID-19 contract tracing and fell behind Hockman in the quarterback battle.

Against Wake, Hockman also connected with nine different receivers. Leary was available to play, but Hockman took all the snaps under center. At his weekly press conference on Monday, Doeren said Leary would be available again this week, but Hockman has the job for now. "We're going to need both of them," Doeren said. "We're one injury/COVID test away from having a different player at every position. We need our quarterbacks to be elite." Leary did practice last week, but Doeren said Hockman would "continue to be our starter until Devin is in position to play." - Raleigh News Observer

rSr/2022

QB Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Raleigh News Observer
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09/06/20 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

2021 SENIOR BOWL WATCH LIST: Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee,...Inclusion on the list is just the latest for Blankenship, who this preseason has also been named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award and Jim Thorpe Award and to Bruce Feldman's "Freak" list. The safety from Athens, Alabama was named to the All-Conference-USA Second Team in 2019, the First Team in 2018 and Honorable Mention in 2017, as well as the C-USA All-Freshman Team. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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09/06/20 - Robert Jones, Sr/2021, Middle Tennessee + More +

2021 SENIOR BOWL WATCH LIST: Robert Jones, Middle Tennessee,...Jones was named an Honorable Mention All-C-USA in 2019, his first season at Middle Tennessee after transferring from Highland Community College (KS). The Chicago native played in all 12 games with 11 starts last season and was named the team's offensive player of the week twice. - Middle Tennessee Football

Sr/2021

OG Robert Jones, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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08/30/20 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

In his four seasons at MT, Shafer has made it a point to bring in defensive backs who can alternate between every position, from safety to corner and even nickel corner. That might be even more important this year with uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and players coming in and out of the lineup. "I feel like we're going to be more than two deep at every position," redshirt sophomore Decorian Patterson said. "We feel really good about it." The Blue Raiders will have a talented group of safeties led by Preseason All-Conference USA member Reed Blankenship and fellow senior Kylan Stribling.

Both are coming off injuries, but, when in the lineup, will be one of the most talented safety duos in the league. Blankenship owns 233 career tackles, 15.5 TFLs, 18 pass breakups, eight interceptions and two blocked kicks. He's been on the All-C-USA First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention in his career, as well as the All-Freshman Team in 2017. He missed the last five games of 2019 with an injury. "When you have a special player like Reed coming back, it's always great to have him playing alongside you," Stribling said. "It's great to have another smart player out there to check adjustments and stuff." - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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08/29/20 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

2020 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM (COACHES): DB Reed Blankenship, Sr., Middle Tennessee,...Blankenship earned second team all-conference recognition last year despite missing the final five games of the season with an injury. Blankenship, who ranked tied for first nationally in blocked kicks with two, was fourth on the team in tackles with 58 to go with two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. A team captain in 2019, Blankenship owns 233 career tackles, 15.5 TFLs, 18 pass breakups, eight interceptions and two blocked kicks. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
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08/21/20 - Kyle Ulbrich, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

2020 PRESEASON RAY GUY AWARD WATCH LIST: Kyle Ulbrich, Middle Tennessee,...Ulbrich played in all 12 games in 2019...Ended the season with 46 punts for a 41.4 average, while having seven go for 50 or more yards and nine being downed inside the 20-yard line. - Middle Tennessee Football

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