Mike Blakely doesn’t know yet where he wants to play next season, but the Bradenton Manatee High running back has an idea of how coaches would like to utilize him at the college level.
“Basically all the schools I’ve talked to have talked to me about the wildcat,” Blakely said after his team’s preseason 48-10 dismantling of Tampa Plant High on Aug. 27.
In a rematch of last season’s Class 5A State Championship, Blakely showed why college coaches have approached him about taking snaps in the wildcat formation.
The four-star running back, according to Rivals.com, rushed for 156 yards on five carries and scored four touchdowns against Plant’s defense, which is anchored by five-star FSU oral commit James Wilder Jr.
And while many eyes were on Wilder, the No. 3 recruit in the nation, it was Blakely who drew attention in the preseason matchup.
Of his four touchdowns, three came on the ground, including a six-yard scamper that displayed his ability to beat the defense around the edge.
Blakely’s fourth score came through the air on a play that looked familiar to anyone who watched the Gators during the Tim Tebow era. Blakely took a direct snap and tossed a two-yard jump pass over the defense.
His most notable highlight, though, came on a 90-yard run in which he gashed Plant’s defense and overcame a facemask grab by Wilder before sprinting to the end zone.
“He’s multitalented,” Manatee coach Joe Kinnan said. “He can run. He can throw. He’s got speed. He’s got power. He’s got moves and he can catch.”
Blakely again displayed his versatility Saturday when Manatee traveled to Pennsylvania for its season opener against Woodland Hills (Pa.) High. He rushed for 86 yards and gained 30 receiving yards.
He also scored a 13-yard touchdown off a direct snap from the shotgun formation.
Kinnan compared Blakely to former Manatee greats Shevin Wiggins and Tyrone Williams, who both went to Nebraska. Wiggins was Florida’s Mr. Football in 1993 before playing wingback in college, and Williams was an NFL cornerback for nine seasons.
At 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, Blakely is bigger than those two were in high school, Kinnan said. But he is just as versatile and fast as they were, running a 4.4 40-yard dash.
“Since the ninth grade, [Blakely] has been our backup quarterback, too,” Kinnan said. “He’s good enough to win with, but that’s not his position in college.”
Unlike Wiggins and Williams, though, Blakely doesn’t have Nebraska on his radar. Florida, Auburn and South Carolina are his leading choices and he plans to visit all three schools this season. He has already set up a visit to Auburn when it hosts South Carolina on Sept. 25.
While most coaches have talked to Blakely about running the wildcat, he said Florida has discussed using him as its slot receiver, also known as the “Percy Position.”
“They see me as a very versatile person because I can throw the ball, I can run the ball, I can catch the ball, return, anything,” Blakely said after the Plant game. “That’s like what Percy Harvin did there — he just had a little more speed than me.”
