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| It has been a roundabout trip for Will Blakey from Air Force mechanic to Division III running back. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
Will Blakey grew up about an hour away in Minnesota from St. John’s University.
However, his journey to become a Johnnie took him around the world.
Upon graduating from St. Paul Central High School in 2016, Blakey enlisted in the United States Air Force and spent six years as an aircraft mechanic. His military career took him from bases in Florida and Texas to deployments in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and throughout Europe.
Now, the 26-year-old is lining up in the backfield for No. 6 St. John’s.
“When I look back on it, it is kind of crazy how it all worked out,” he said. “I am grateful for the amount of work I put in just to have this opportunity.”
It all started for Blakey at St. Paul Central, where he played just one year of high school football as a senior.
“I played football through eighth grade at the local rec center, but I played a lot of other sports, too,” he said. “A lot of the guys I ended up playing with as a kid were on the high school football team my senior year and wanted me to come out for the team and I loved it. I realized how much I missed playing football. But, by that time, I was already enlisted, so I never thought about going to college and playing football. I didn’t think I was ready for all the responsibility that comes with college and balancing college and school. I figured joining the Air Force was best.”
Inspired by an aunt, who was a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, Blakey enlisted in the Air Force and was assigned a job as a communication navigation technician. He worked exclusively on KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling tankers.
“I didn’t know my job until the end of basic training. It was a huge culture shock and change of pace. It was a really different thing for me. I knew nothing about fixing planes before that. But, if you focus on something and dedicate yourself, I think you can do anything. I had to believe in myself,” he said. “After basic training, I had to go to technical school and learn only about how to fix aircraft for 8-12 hours a day. After that, I found out I was going to be stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.”
Adjusting to Florida was something new, too, for Blakey, who was used to harsh Minnesota winters.
“It was awesome to be able to live on the other side of the country,” he said. “I had a lot of brothers around me who threw their arms around me and brought me along and helped me mature and grow up.”
While stationed in Florida, Blakey met his future wife, Elisha, and endured deployments all over Europe and the Middle East.
“Being able to see the world was an amazing experience. It really opened my eyes to the opportunities we have here in America,” Blakey said. “Being able to travel the world and learning from other people, I knew it’d serve me well. If I could just carry it on, I felt like the sky was the limit. I just kept betting on myself and, even if I didn’t know something, I’d figure it out.”
Once his enlistment was nearing its end, Blakey planned to go to college and earn a degree. Watching a college football game that featured a veteran in a similar situation inspired him to give a return to the field a shot. So, he trained and reached out to Portland State, a Division I FCS program, where he was given a tryout and earned a roster spot in 2022.
“My wife, who was still my girlfriend at the time, and I wanted to live somewhere new. We wanted to see what the West Coast was about,” Blakey said. “If was going to work at coming back and playing again, I wanted to do it at the highest level and play D-I football. I didn’t know much about Portland State, but their running backs coach was A.C. Patterson and his dad is Andre Patterson and he coached for the Minnesota Vikings for like a decade and I thought maybe there’d be a connection there.”
Once on the Portland State squad, Blakey had to wait until Week 6 for his eligibility to be all sorted out before he could appear in a game.
“That was nice, though. Just to be able to watch how things are handled and how things are run,” he said. “Watching those guys, I knew I could play with them.”
Cleared to take the field, Blakey played on special teams for the Vikings. He stayed there exclusively in his two seasons with the program. But, with a newborn daughter, Monet, joining the family, Blakey wanted to come back home and be closer to family.
“Being at Portland State and making the roster, I felt like the world was my oyster. I wanted to come back home and play a bigger role,” he said. “What better place to bring all the skills I gained and all my experiences back than St John’s? I am really ready to give everything I have to everyone around me.”
Johnnies coach Gary Fasching was thrilled to add Blakey to the program.
“When Will came and visited with me last spring, I recognized right away that this is a completely different player than what we’d normally get. He’s seen those real-world experiences in his six years in the Air Force,” he said. “We talked about that and how he views things having gone through all that.
“One of the things that came out really clearly was the leadership part. He talked about that. Because of all those experiences, he felt he could be a real leader in the locker room. He has not disappointed us in that way. He is a leader and a team player. He was a special teams player at Portland State and he has had the opportunity to carry the ball here. He keeps telling me every week, ‘Put me anywhere you need me, I will be there.’ He has been a great resource for our young guys. I see them gravitate toward him. He’s so good in the locker room and on the practice field. He practices hard every day. If your best players are your hardest workers, then you’re in a really good position. He’s a good example of that.”
Blakey wasn’t sure how his teammates would receive him — or vice versa.
“I am older; I have a more mature body, but also more of a mature mindset, too. I knew that, if I can carry that into football, it’d pay off for me. I couldn’t ask for more than what I have now,” he said. “I am a small part of this place. The seniors here are some of the most incredible people I have been around. They could’ve shied away from me. But, they wanted to learn from my experiences. That gave me the confidence to be myself and be a leader, too.
“At Portland State, I wasn’t as much of a leader as I could have been. I feel like I shied away from it, honestly. Coming here, I just want to make sure I am being myself — just being authentic. Everyone else here is very authentic as well.
“The leadership team here was already great. Dylan Wheeler, he is someone who I admire and look up to. He never takes a rep off. He takes great care of his body. Jake Schwinghammer and Hayden Sanders lead by example. I feel like I am learning as much from those guys as they have taken from me. It’s been a great match.”
Blakey has been able to make an immediate impact on the team. He leads the squad with 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries, all while sharing the running load with two other backs.
“When he gets into the game, there’s something different about the way he runs,” Fasching says. “He hits the hole quicker and finds the holes really well. He is a dependable guy. I know, when he is in there, he won’t be held to negative yards. I have been tremendously impressed with everything about him.”
Blakey is happy to contribute as much as possible in whatever role the team gives him.
“Coming into camp, I felt really good about the work I did over the summer. I knew I could contribute. We lost one of our best running backs, Caden Wheeler, to injury early in camp. I knew that was an opportunity for me to step up. Whenever I end up getting my number called, I am trying to make the most out of my opportunities,” he said. “It’s so much fun. It’s been surreal being able to look into the crowd and see my daughter wearing her little No. 33 Blakey jersey, sitting with my wife.
“The game-day experience at St. John’s is second to none, especially at the D-III level. It demands the most out of you and that’s what I am looking for. I can’t ask for anything more. I am just making sure I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and staying grateful. It’s still early and I am just trying to make the most of any opportunities.”
For Blakey, the ultimate goal is a championship and nothing individual. He believes this squad has what it takes to bring home some hardware.
“I think, with a good team vs. a great team, it’s all about the leadership aspect and holding each other accountable,” he said. “When I got here over the summer, I could just tell immediately that last season left a bad taste in their mouths and they wanted to see change and take advantage of this season. St. John’s has had a winning program for forever. That speaks for itself. I understood the standard here was pretty high. I wanted that — people holding other people accountable. I want to win a national championship. I want to be part of a team that does something special. I think this team is capable of doing something great.”
Off the field, it’s been an adjustment for Blakey, too. It’s back to hitting the books as the sophomore works toward his degree in exercise and health science. He wants to become a strength and conditioning coach one day.
“That might be the hardest aspect of it all. I was only doing one job in the Air Force and now it’s back to studying biology and everything else,” he said with a laugh. “It’s been a challenge, but one I embrace. If it was something that didn’t challenge me, I wouldn’t be interested. I just have to stay in the books and bring the same effort and energy as I do in football. I have become more of a hard worker and become more focused. I credit that to the Air Force. I credit a lot of the person I am now to the people in the military that molded me.
“Overall, the attention to detail was so important. Fixing aircraft, you can’t have mistakes. I was always double or triple checking my work. In football, it’s the same way — I am taking notes on the goal of the play and what my assignment is. In the classroom, I take notes. If I don’t understand something, I will ask questions. All the professors here are great. With the small class sizes here, it’s been great and allowed me the chance to ask questions.
“Growing up, I listened to my coaches more than my parents, at times. I want to be that influence on young people,” he continued. “Yeah, I can help them on the football field as a coach, but I can help them navigate life, too. Working with people is something I want to do. I realize I am more of a people person and there’s a lot more value for me there. I really need to do something I am passionate about.”
Right now for Blakey, that’s being a father, husband, student and athlete.
“This is great,” he said. “We’re close enough that my parents can come down and be part of my daughter’s life, too. I am just so thankful for the opportunity.”
