The 310-pound interior offensive lineman has been committed to UCF since June of this year and it looked to stay that way until his recent flip to Clemson Football. With Blanchard being a Tampa native, many were surprised to hear about the decision change, but it’s not too far fetched when you look at the history he has with Clemson Football.
The six-foot-three lineman is ranked as the No. 889 player in the nation, the No. 61 interior offensive lineman, and the No. 119 recruit in the state of Florida. He’s ranked a three-star, per 247Sports, and holds 11 other offers from schools that include, but aren’t limited to: Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Tulane.
Like I said before, people might be confused by Blanchard’s move to flip his commitment but it’s honestly not too surprising when looking at his recruiting history. The 2025 offensive lineman visited the school for the first time in the summer of 2022, attending a school camp. Following that, he revisited four more times, attending another school camp, two unofficial visits and Clemson Football’s Junior Day. However, he never received an offer from Clemson Football.
That was until just two days ago, when Dabo Swinney extended an offer to the brute force of a lineman. He immediately decommitted from UCF and flipped to Clemson just two days following the offer.
In the 2023 high school season, Blanchard spent a majority of his time at the left tackle position, but flipped back and forth between left and right guard at times as well. He also played both sides of the ball, recording five tackles and a QB hit while aligned in the front seven of the defense. He assisted in leading (Tampa) Jesuit High School to the regional finals of Florida’s 3M playoffs, losing 31-24 to Gaither High School.
Following the 2023 season he transferred to Wiregrass Ranch High School who are currently 8-0 and ranked No. 55 in the state of Florida. Blanchard looks to be translating his game perfectly, running over the opposing line and creating an immense amount of space for his QB and RB to make successful plays.
