2024 Football Roster
Roster
Stone Blanton
- Position:
- LB
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 230
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Jackson, Miss.
- High School/Previous School:
- Madison-Ridgeland Academy (South Carolina)
Career Honors
2025 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
2024 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
2022-23 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
Career Notes
Played in 36 career games with 24 starts … Started 24 consecutive games through the 2024 season … Played in 33 straight games dating back to Sept. 29, 2022 … Following the 2024 season, Blanton has recorded 184 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery … Seven career double-digit tackle games … Declared for the 2025 NFL Draft on Jan. 15, 2025 and has until Feb. 7 to decide to stay in or pull his name out of the draft.
2024 (Junior Season)
Played in 12 games with 12 starts … Career-best 125 tackles … First-career 100+ tackle season … Earned 125 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery … Tied for second in the SEC in total tackles and tied for ninth in the FBS … Joined teammate Isaac Smith to help State have the top two tacklers in the SEC for three straight seasons … Finished second on the team in tackles … Six double-digit tackle games … Led the team in tackles a team-best seven times … 14+ tackles in three of the final four games … Career-high 18 tackles vs. Missouri … Eastern Kentucky (8/31): Made his Mississippi State debut and made his first start in the Maroon & White … Recorded five tackles, all assisted tackles … Earned a pass break up … Earned a coverage grade of 79.9 which was the second-best coverage grade for all linebackers in the SEC ... at Arizona State (9/7): Recorded eight tackles, three solo and five assisted ... Toledo (9/14): Recorded 10 tackles, one solo and nine assisted ... Set a new career high in forced fumbles ... Florida (9/21): Recorded eight tackles, one solo and seven assisted … Tied for the team lead in tackles with Isaac Smith ... First time in 2024 leading or tying for the team lead in total tackles ... at Texas (9/28): Recorded 10 tackles, four solo and six assisted … Had one tackle for loss for two yards … Earned a half a sack … forced a fumble and recovered it for his first career fumble recovery … First game as a Bulldog with double-digit tackles ... at Georgia (10/12): Recorded nine tackles, eight solo and one assisted ... at Georgia (10/12): Recorded nine tackles, eight solo and one assisted … Led the team in tackles ... vs. Texas A&M (10/19): Recorded nine assisted tackles … Had one QB hurry … Had one pass break up ... Arkansas (10/26): Recorded 10 tackles, one solo and nine assisted … Third double-digit tackle game of the season ... Led the team in tackles four the fourth time this season ... UMass (11/2): Recorded 14 tackles, two solo and 12 assisted … Had one pass break up … Led the team in tackles for the fifth time this season ... at Tennessee (11/9): Recorded nine tackles, one solo and eight assisted ... vs. Missouri (11/23): Recorded 18 tackles, three solo and 15 assisted … Had one tackle for loss … Earned his fifth double-digit tackle game of the season ... Season-high in tackles … at Ole Miss (11/29): Recorded 14 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
2023 (Sophomore Season - South Carolina)
Started all 12 games for the Gamecocks ... Recorded 52 tackles with one sack, one interception and one forced fumble ... Had a season-high 10 tackles in the season-opener against North Carolina ... Lone sack on the year came against Georgia on Sept. 16.
2022 (True Freshman Season - South Carolina)
He was a true freshman who saw action in 12 of 13 games … Did not see action against Charlotte … Accumulated seven tackles, including five solo stops … Credited with 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup … Logged a pair of tackles against both Texas A&M and Florida … Notched his first career tackle for loss and pass breakup in the win over South Carolina State … Also had a half-tackle for loss at Florida … Named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
High School
Graduated from Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Jackson, Miss. in 2022 … Was also an outstanding baseball player … Was a semifinalist (top 15) for the high school Butkus Award … Selected to play in the Under Armour All-America game … Named the MAIS 6A Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Patriots to an 11-3 record and the state championship … Also named the WAPT/Blitz 16 Player of the Year … Led the Patriots with 125 tackles, 26 TFLs and 11 sacks as a senior … Credited with 99 tackles, 11 TFLs and five sacks as a junior … Logged 61 tackles with 14.5 TFLs and four sacks as a sophomore in 2019 … Coached by Herbert Davis … Considered the seventh-best player in the state of Mississippi, the 28th-best linebacker in the nation and No. 285 overall by 247Sports Composite … Rated No. 230 on the ESPN300 list.
Personal
Archer Stone Blanton was born Sept. 12, 2002 ... Goes by his nickname 'Stone' ... Grew up a huge Mississippi State fan, coming to games with his family his whole life ... Originally committed to play baseball at Mississippi State … is undeclared on his major.
Social Media
X/Twitter – @stoneblanton7
Instagram – stoneblanton7
Career-Highs
Tackles: 18, vs. Missouri (11/23/2024)
Tackles for Loss: 1.5, at Ole Miss (11/29/2024)
Sacks: 1.0, at Georgia (9/16/2023) *
QB Hurries: 2, vs. Vanderbilt (South Carolina, 11/11/2023) *
Interceptions: 1, vs. Jacksonville State (11/4/2023) *
Pass Breakups: 2, vs. Jacksonville State (11/4/2023) *
Forced Fumble: 1, 3x, last at Texas (09/21/2024)
Fumble Recoveries: 1, at Texas (09/21/2024)
* Career-high set at South Carolina
![Jacksonville Jaguars punter Logan Cooke (9) punts during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Jets 48-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fmsstate.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F1%2F1%2FUSATSI_27828199.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
