While in Charlottesville this past Saturday for the University of Virginia football program’s Junior Day recruiting event, Landmark Christian Academy (GA) free safety prospect Joey Blount and other recruits were able to tour Scott Stadium and Virginia’s football facilities, speak with coaches, players and alumni, attend the UVA/UNC men’s basketball game, and more. There were several highlights for Blount but he cited an opportunity to speak with Quin Blanding, who in the 2014 season became the first true freshman since 1976 to open the regular season as a starter at one of the two safety positions, as one of them.

“[Blanding] talked about how the team is so hungry to try to get better. They are working hard, but they are having fun and he feels like they are getting better,” Blount said. (Oh, and that true freshman starter in 1976? That would be Tony Blount, Joey’s father.)

Virginia graduate assistant coach Daquan Romero, who played linebacker for the Cavaliers from 2011-2014, was a highlight in terms of making the younger Blount feel comfortable on Grounds.

“It was my first Junior Day ever,” the 6’2”, 175-pound junior recalled. “I really liked how when I got there the graduate assistants, the coaches, the alumni who were there, were meeting me at the door. They knew my name before I introduced myself. The locker room was beautiful. They let me put on a jersey and take a picture with the jersey, but probably one of the highlights was talking to Daquan Romero. He’s just a great guy. He totally understood where I was coming from as a recruit. He and my dad got along well. My dad said Daquan reminded him of himself in college. For me, talking to him I felt like I was in high school still but on a college level. It was a more casual type of deal. It’s reassuring to always have someone to talk to.”

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