The genesis of James Blanchard’s career can be traced back two decades to far east Texas, with some high school highlights, a handful of online message boards and, later, hundreds of posts on a then nascent social media platform called Twitter.
As college coaches began visiting his West Orange–Stark High to recruit players in the classes of 2006 and ’07, Blanchard could scarcely believe there wasn’t more buzz surrounding two of his teammates, both of whom were prominent defensive backs: Deon Beasley and Earl Thomas.
