Khari Blasingame

Khari Thomas Blasingame (born July 1, 1996) is an American football fullback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).[1] He played college football at Vanderbilt, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.[1]

Khari Blasingame
refer to caption
Blasingame with the Tennessee Titans in 2021
No. 35 – Chicago Bears
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1996-07-01) July 1, 1996
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:233 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school:Buckhorn
(New Market, Alabama)
College:Vanderbilt (2015–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Rushing yards:6
Rushing average:2.0
Receptions:10
Receiving yards:97
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

High school career

Blasingame was a two-year captain and two-way starter at safety and running back for Buckhorn High School in Huntsville, Alabama.[2] In his senior year, Blasingame posted 64 tackles, two interceptions, 966 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns.[2] As a three-star safety, Blasingame committed to Vanderbilt. He also received offers from Minnesota and Northwestern.[3]

College career

Blasingame signed with Vanderbilt as a linebacker in 2015. He started seven games in his freshman year, and recorded 12 total tackles. He switched positions to halfback, the position he had played in high school, and he did significantly better. Blasingame started 13 games, carried the ball 97 times for 446 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was significantly better at running than catching, though, as he only got four receptions for eight yards. In his junior year, he was not the full-time starter, only starting 10 games. He carried the ball half as much that season, rushing 45 times for a very low 147 yards and no touchdowns. His only touchdown in 2017 was a reception, one of the six that season, as well as recording 52 total receiving yards. In his senior year, Blasingame settled into becoming the full-time starter, taking 96 carries for 400 yards and five touchdowns, as well as catching significantly more balls, racking up 25 catches for 320 yards and a touchdown.[4]

In 2019, Blasingame was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. [5]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 0+1⁄8 in
(1.83 m)		 233 lb
(106 kg)		 32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m)		 9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		4.55 s1.52 s2.61 s4.18 s6.94 s38.5 in
(0.98 m)		10 ft 11 in
(3.33 m)		20 reps
All values from Pro Day[6]

Minnesota Vikings

After going undrafted, the Minnesota Vikings signed Blasingame as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2019.[7] He was waived on August 31, 2019, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[8][9]

Tennessee Titans
Blasingame in 2021

On November 13, 2019, the Tennessee Titans signed Blasingame to their active roster off the Vikings practice squad.[10] In Week 14, Blasingame caught two passes for 47 yards against the Oakland Raiders.[11]

Blasingame was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 4, 2020,[12] and was activated from the list on October 16.[13]

Blasingame signed a one-year contract extension with the Titans on March 5, 2021.[14] He was placed on injured reserve on November 6, 2021.[15] He was activated on November 27.[16]

Chicago Bears

On March 22, 2022, Blasingame signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears.[17] Blasingame was one of the lowest-graded Bears players through the first six games of the season by Pro Football Focus.[18]

He signed a two-year contract extension on March 8, 2023.[19] Blasingame became the Bears' emergency running back during the team's week 5 matchup against the Washington Commanders following injuries to the team's three running backs. He carried the ball eight times for 26 yards. Blasingame only had three rushing attempts in his entire career prior to the game.[20]

References
  1. "Former Vanderbilt RB Khari Blasingame Back in Nashville, Ready to Help the Titans". www.titansonline.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. "Khari Blasingame". Vanderbilt University Athletics – Official Athletics Website. May 4, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. "Khari Blasingame Recruit Interests". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  4. "Khari Blasingame College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  5. "Ashe Scholar Committed to Serving Others". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Cox, Matthews and Associates. April 4, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  6. "2019 NFL Draft Scout Khari Blasingame College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  7. Peters, Craig (July 26, 2019). "2-Minute Drill: Get to Know Vikings FB Khari Blasingame". Vikings.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  8. "Khari Blasingame: Cut by Vikings". CBSSports.come. September 1, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  9. "Vikings Fill Initial 2019 Practice Squad". Vikings.com. September 1, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  10. Wyatt, Jim (November 13, 2019). "Titans Add Former Vanderbilt – and Vikings – RB/FB Khari Blasingame to 53-Man Roster". www.titansonline.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  11. Moraitis, Michael (December 9, 2019). "Titans: A.J. Brown, Khari Blasingame get national attention for Week 14 performances". TitanSized.com. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  12. Moraitis, Mike (October 4, 2020). "Tennessee Titans to add FB Khari Blasingame to COVID-19 list". USAToday.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. Wyatt, Jim (October 16, 2020). "Titans Activate FB Khari Blasingame from Reserve/COVID-19 List". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  14. Wyatt, Jim (March 5, 2021). "Titans Agree to Terms With RB/FB Khari Blasingame". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  15. Wyatt, Jim (November 6, 2021). "Titans Make a Flurry of Roster Moves Ahead of Sunday's Game vs the Rams". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  16. Wyatt, Jim (November 27, 2021). "Titans Place WR A.J. Brown on Injured Reserve While Activating FB Khari Blasingame from IR". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  17. Mayer, Larry (March 22, 2022). "Roster Move: Bears sign FB Khari Blasingame". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  18. "Bears PFF grades: Worst players through 6 games in 2022". Bears Wire. October 17, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  19. Williams, Charean (March 8, 2023). "Bears agree to two-year extension with Khari Blasingame". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  20. Inabinett, Mark (October 5, 2023). "NFL Thursday night: Bears win after losing Dick Butkus". al.com. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.