Blanding and Kiser Named to Walter Camp All-America Team

Dec. 7, 2017

Atlanta, Ga. – Virginia free safety Quin Blanding and inside linebacker Micah Kiser were named to the Walter Camp All-America during ESPN/Home Depot College Football Award Show. The Walter Camp Football Foundation made the announcement Thursday (Dec. 7) at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. Blanding and Kiser were both second-team All-America selections.

The Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America squad is in its 128th year honoring the nation’s best college football players. Blanding and Kiser are the 11th and 12th Cavaliers all-time to be recognized on the Walter Camp All-America team and the first since safety Anthony Harris was named a second-team selection in 2013. While Blanding and Harris are the only two UVA safeties selected by the Walter Camp All-America team, Kiser is the first Cavalier linebacker recognized by the organization.

Blanding (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) ranks No. 2 in the ACC and No. 15 in the nation with 121 tackles. His 121 tackles and 10.1 tackles per game leads the nation’s defensive backs. His four interceptions rank No. 3 in the ACC and No. 23 in the nation. Blanding is Virginia’s all-time career tackle leader with 479 stops, which ranks No. 10 all-time in ACC history and No. 1 among ACC defensive backs. Blanding finished the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons No. 2 in the ACC in tackles and is on pace to do so for a fourth time. He finished behind Kiser in 2015 and 2016. Blanding was named a first-team All-ACC safety for the third year in a row and also is a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award. Blanding is also the Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Defensive Back of the Year for the third year in a row.

Kiser (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) ranks No. 1 in the ACC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 134 tackles. His 134 stops tie his 2016 output and Wali Rainer (1998) for No. 4 on UVA’s single-season tackle list. Kiser is the 2017 Campbell Trophy winner and a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Senior CLASS Award, while he is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. He is No. 5 all-time at UVA with 400 career tackles and owns 20 career double-digit tackle games in 36 career starts. Kiser’s 385 tackles since the start of the 2015 season are the most in the nation during that span. He has been named a first-team All-ACC linebacker for three seasons in a row. Kiser is also the Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Linebacker of the Year for the third year in a row, as well as a finalist for the 2017 Dudley Award.

Previously, Blanding has been named a first-team All-American by Bleacher Report and SB Nation and a third-team selection by Sports on Earth. Kiser has been named a second-team All-American by SB Nation.