KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee defensive lineman Ja’Quain Blakely is getting ready to play his final game in a Vols uniform on Thursday in the Music City Bowl.
As a sixth-year senior, he’s seen quite the revolving door with head coaches and he has endured personal tragedy.
Through it all, he remained positive and driven because he didn’t want to let anyone down.
“When I came in, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the greatest," he said. "I wanted to leave it better than I found it.”
In these six seasons, he’s played under four different head coaches if you count Brady Hoke.
Through all the ups, downs, and other drama surrounding the program, he decided to stick it out.
“To me, it just shows the perseverance that I have," he said. "It shows the dedication and the want to that I have.”
Blakely would have to persevere again right before this season began.
Four days before the season opener against Bowling Green, his dad died from a sudden heart attack.
“It was one of those things that was unbelievable, unreal type of deal," he said. "When I got the call I couldn’t believe it, I was in total shock. Just to know it happened right before the season started, it just gave me motivation to go harder and do things to the extreme because that’s what he’d want me to do.”
Blakely chose to play that game against Bowling Green because he didn’t want to let his father down or his teammates by not playing.
He started for the Vols.
"I knew that's what he'd want me to do, it's what he'd tell me to do," Blakely said about his dad.
Through what he’s been through, Blakely has always found the positives after facing adversity.
“I think my favorite part of would be getting to know new people, learn things about myself, limits I can push myself to just realizing and finding myself basically," Blakely said.
As he finishes his career with the Vols, he wants to end this journey the right way.
“Jus tot know how far we’ve came from where we were," the defensive lineman said. "Proving all the naysayers wrong on how we were going to be. We just put our head down and we worked. It’s going to be a great experience and I’m ready for it.”
