His name is Joseph Cecil Blount III. The nickname “Trey” just happened.
That’s like how Trey Blount (Pace Academy/Atlanta, Ga.) became the ninth member of the 2017 UGA recruiting class on Sunday afternoon. Blount, the son of a former quarterback at Jacksonville State, actually was tricked into giving football a chance by his namesake.
The man who taught him a “you can’t get the rock if you don’t block” mindset at receiver saw his son take to baseball and basketball as a youth. So the father told him he was going to a summer camp that was actually a football camp.
Blount liked the idea of summer camps at the time so he went to the summer football camp. He liked it. That introduction was the precursor to him joining an actual football team that fall.
Those were the humble beginnings for the four-star receiver who is now rated No. 35 in the nation at his position. The nearly 6-foot-3, 185-pounder was committed to UGA since the Wednesday after G-Day, but his announcement on Sunday was tactical. It was to ensure that UGA had a lot of good news on the recruiting front regardless of what happened with the mercurial Demetris Robertson earlier that afternoon.
Robertson’s path to Cal actually means UGA can take four receivers in the Class of 2017. If he had committed to UGA, that receiver number was likely to be capped at three. That decision now means up to two slots could be available for the likes of Alabama top prospect Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville High School/Pinson, Ala.) and four-star Jeremiah Holloman (Newton High School/Covington, Ga.) to also go up on the receiver board at UGA.
Blount said that Alabama finished behind UGA. He had just had a video conference with Alabama coach Nick Saban over the last month, and that was another sign that it was time to release his silent commitment.
“It was a better fit for me for these four years and the next 40 years after it,” Blount said.
Look for him to become an active recruiter for the Class of 2017 going forward. It should work out well. Blount has natural charisma and is instantly likeable. His chief task will be in making sure that the state’s top offensive lineman prospect also joins him at UGA. He’ll have a lot of opportunities as four-star offensive tackle Andrew Thomas is a teammate at Pace.
“I am going to get on it and start recruiting other players to help make our class number one,” Blount said.
He’s going to tell Thomas to “come be a Dawg” and play for a great tradition and “help bring a national championship to the home state of Georgia” whenever he needs a reason to commit. Those labors would serve the program well as it tries to land 2018 offensive guard Jamaree Salyer. If Blount is successful with Thomas, a Pace pipeline to UGA may start flowing.
Salyer is the nation’s No. 1 guard and No. 13 overall prospect in 2018. It sounds very plausible that he will follow Thomas if he sees his lifelong teammate enjoying the school he signs with next February.
Blount knew he wanted to commit after G-Day. It was that “electrifying” atmosphere and seeing highly-touted freshman quarterback Jacob Eason throw it around. The presence of Eason was huge.
“You definitely want to have a great quarterback go to school with you being a receiver, and he’s a great one,” Blount said.
Blount felt that all schools were even heading into #93KDay, but that event pushed UGA over the top.
He shared a very touching personal story in his commitment video with DawgNation. His parents are separated and his nine-year-old brother, Jared, lives in Texas. He cherishes the time he can spend with his younger sibling. The 17-year-old wears a set of dog tags with the name “Jared C. Blount” and his brother’s birthday are inscribed on them.
“It also says ‘I miss you’ and ‘God bless,’” Blount said. “You never really get to see it unless I pull them out. That’s what really drives me to be better. So hopefully one day I can make it to the league and it would allow me to make his life easier and make it better than what I have had to go through. I want to take care of him.”
He calls him his ‘little dude” and “Little J.”
“I do it all for him and because I love the game of football,” Blount said.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges. Unless otherwise indicated, player rankings and ratings are from the 247Sports Composite.