“Strike when the Iron's Hot”: The Khari Blasingame story
“Strike when the Iron's Hot”: The Khari Blasingame story
This story is about a guy who never let the moment overwhelm him, or lets his success get him the so-called “Big Head”. Khari Blasingame is a fullback for the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. Before he was in the NFL, he was playing ball back in New Market, Alabama where this journey started.
Khari and I both played high school football at Buckhorn High school. Khari was and is still a well-known person around New Market. Khari was a two-sport guy at our high school, playing football and baseball he was pretty good at baseball but clearly his sport was football. He has always been a natural leader. He was a vocal leader for our football team, a lot of guys looked up to him including myself. Khari and I have developed a very close friendship through football going all the way back to middle school.
Where this story is going to start is the end of Khari’s junior year of high school. He was getting a little bit discouraged with the recruiting process. Coming from a small town and playing at a high school who at the time was not getting a lot of foot traffic for college coaches to come to check out players. What separated Khari from others is that he was not going to sit back and just let his film do all the taking. He went to camps and would do very well. On May 8, 2013, Khari’s luck started to turn around. Minnesota was his first off of few that he would receive going into his senior season.
Khari started at safety for us and also return kicks and played running back for us in certain formations. Building off the momentum he has had off the field, we were set to play our first game against Madison County high school as we are every year. “Strike when the irons hot” is a saying Khari told me during our interview. Which gave me a flashback to the opening kickoff of his senior year, he took it to the house for a touchdown to start our 2013-2014 season.
I describe Khari as a Chameleon. In high school, he did a little bit of everything for us, at Vandy his redshirt year he impressed coaches on the scout team at Safety. His redshirt freshman year he played inside linebacker and special teams. He is also good at adapting quickly, but also most importantly he is a team player. A saying we both learned in high school from our head coach David O'Connor we wore shirts on Thursdays that say “Team me”. Which symbolized the team is bigger than an individual. Khari was always a defensive player and loved playing defense. Being the athlete that he was, Khari was asked if he could make the switch from defense to offense. The first year as back up running back to Ralph Webb he did fairly well. Rushing for 449 yards 10 TDs on 97 carries. Taking advantage of his opportunities.
2017 his redshirt junior year was not his best. Although he played a very important role for the Commodores his production just was not what he wanted. Only rushing for 147 yards on 45 carries and 6 receptions for 55 yards and 1 TD. His drop off from the year before really started to put him back in the mindset where he was his junior year of high school. Just seems he can not catch a break, He quickly got out of that negative state and made the best of his situation. He started the process and made sure he was going to have a nice senior season.
Leading up to his senior year at Vandy, Khari was not just known for how he was on the field but off the field as well. Khari talked to me about how he does not let football define him. Khari is the model person you would want your son or daughter to grow up to be like. Never thinking he is better than anybody, always willing to help and to be more impressed that he attended a very good academic school. Making the SEC academic honor roll team every season and in 2018 was an Allstate-AFCA Good works team nominee.
Finally in his 2018 Senior year, coming off a solid year, he put it in his mind he would not let last season affect him. Making two starts and played in all 13 games he rushed for over 400 yards, 5 TDs on 96 carries, as well as having 320 yards receiving on 25 receptions 1 TD. They played Baylor in the Texas Bowl, where he had 85 receiving yards with a career-long 65 yard TD reception. Talking with Khari and knowing him personally he is not one to brag about himself. So that is why I am here. He finished his senior season with 721 all-purpose yards and 6 TDS
I believe how selfless Khari is, is why he is where he is today. Being patient, not finding a way out when it got tough for him. He went from safety, inside linebacker, to running back, to fullback now in the NFL. That shows you how much Khari is willing to do to make his dream come true. Also, it shows how selfless he is, and what he is willing to do for his teammates to help the team succeed.
All of his hard work and patience paid off for him. After a successful senior season, and doing well on his pro day Khari landed a priority free agent spot with the Minnesota Vikings. Where yet again he was tried at a new position in what some say is a dying position. No moment is ever too big for Khari so when it comes time to making a play or being that guy to step up, he is right there ready to go. “Striking when the Iron's Hot” Khari scored touchdowns in three out of the four preseason games and did a really good job blocking. His effort and ability to adapt got him signed to the practice squad.
-By: Zach Branner