WATCH: Mississippi State linebacker Stone Blanton eager to hear cowbells ringing

Mississippi State linebacker Stone Blanton is no stranger to the SEC, having spent his first two collegiate seasons at South Carolina. But now the junior is nearing his Bulldog debut and playing inside a stadium he visited regularly as a kid and teenager.

Next weekend Blanton and company will open the season against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium. On Wednesday after practice, Blanton met with the media to discuss his upcoming State debut among other topics:

Q: How’s the transition been going from camp to getting prepared for a game?
Blanton: It’s been awesome. Love fall camp, love what it’s about. You go against the same people every single day to get better. But I’m finally ready to get on to an opponent and watch film, studying plays and play a real opponent. I’m excited.

Q: There seems to be a confidence factor with this team despite so many new faces. Where does that confidence come from?
Blanton: I think it just comes from a bond. We came out quick and bonded. We did a great job in the offseason training together and did a lot of hard stuff. When you do hard stuff, it kind of molds a great relationship. When you push each other to be the best you can every day, it forms a great bond and you have a lot of confidence in each other. You feel like you can go out there and play with anybody.

Q: How much more comfortable do you feel with this defensive scheme?
Blanton. I love our defense, I love what we do. One of my favorite things is to study plays, study film and stuff like that. Luke Kuechly is my favorite linebacker of all time and he was one of the smartest to ever play. So that’s just something I love, just getting in there and watching film. I got my computer at home that I get on and I come here and watch film here. It just taking studying and reps.

I learn well in the film room. Some people need reps and maybe walk-throughs, which I do, too, and I think everybody does. But I’m good in the film room where I can take notes and it kind of sticks. The more I take notes on it the more it sticks and you just keep writing the same stuff every day.

Q: A lot of the closest competitions on the team are at the linebacker positions. How much confidence does that give you with the depth during the season?
Blanton: I love it. We compete with each other every day. We battle it out. We have great players and I think that’s you need and that’s what you want in a room, to have great players that are battling it out every single day. And I love it.

Q: How does a guy like safety Hunter Washington help with the bonding of this team?
Blanton: He’s a dog. Hunter will come down and hit you. He’s a strong guy, he’s vocal. He’s always calling out plays and telling us how to get aligned and stuff like that. That’s you want from a safety, a guy coming down behind you or when he has to come in the box and he’s big enough to come hit a running back. I love that. He’s a great leader.

Q: You get the chance to hear the cowbells ringing for you for the first time next weekend. What’s that moment going to be like for you?
Blanton: That’s going to be unreal. I grew up coming to this place, pretty much every weekend. Had Egg Bowl family time, hated Ole Miss, loved Mississippi State. To hear the cowbells ring, that is going to be a highlight of my life, for sure.

Q: He just arrived in June but your thoughts on freshman linebacker Fred Clark?
Blanton: Fat (Clark) is good. Fat is so strong and he can throw offensive linemen off of him. He’s fast, too, so he can get to the ball and get sideline to sideline. Obviously, the speed of the game is completely different from high school to college. He’s done a good job managing that and he’s getting better every single day.

Q: Was training camp different at Mississippi State from what you’ve done in the past?
Blanton: I think it’s pretty similar because we practiced in the morning, too, (at South Carolina). So it is pretty similar and you get the same kind of stuff. The difference would be like if you practice in the afternoon or versus the morning. But both places I’ve been at have been morning practices so it’s pretty similar.

Q: I guess you have to start adding class work to your duties this week?
Blanton: No doubt. You got to be a student-athlete and that’s part of it. You want to get your degree, you want to take advantage of this opportunity that you have. No better way to do that than go out there and be good at school. We have great advisors that help us out. So we have a great opportunity to build our knowledge.

Q: In general. how do you feel about this defense now going into the season?
Blanton: I am super confident in the guys we have. I think we have depth that can play. We’re going to be able to sustain during the game and we’re going to be able to play really hard. We love football and that’s a big thing. Some places you go, you can see guys that don’t love football. Here, I feel like we love football. I have friends all over the place and they will tell you stuff. Sometimes you feel like there’s not that there and they get washed out or tired of it. But here the energy is great. It shows that we love the game and we want to get better.

Q: How has the scout team helped this week?
Blanton: They’re good. We actually have a full Oline, receivers and tight end. Some places you don’t have that when injuries and stuff like that happens. But right now they’re working super hard to give us a good look and maxing hard. That’s all we can ask for.