Interest Rising among Ivy League Programs for 2026 Tennessee QB Blaine Stansberry

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

The fluid spins around 5A Tennessee yards and the hard work put in on academics have drawn attention to three-star 2026 quarterback Blaine Stansberry. Working his trade in a Spread offense for Oak Ridge High School (Oak Ridge), Stansberry (6-0, 188) earned All-Region Offensive Player of the Year honors as a junior. The 4.1 GPA has high academic programs stepping up their recruiting efforts.

The talented Wildcats’ roster allowed Stansberry to spray the field. When things got tight midway through the 2024 schedule, the offense adjusted.

“To open the season, we were running a Spread offense,” Stansberry said. “We have a really good tight end and receiver in Malik Howard and Will Pressley; we were trying to get it to our bigger guys. Halfway through the season, all our starting receivers were hurt. We put in heavier sets, that constricted what we could do; we were more run heavy then. Later in the playoffs, we got most of our receivers back, then we went back to Spread and were able to throw it around.”

Tossing for 2,290 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushing for 164 yards with two more scores posted on the board, Stansberry took the game experience improving upon his abilities.

“I think I was a lot smarter with the ball this year,” Stansberry shared. “During my sophomore year, my first year starting, I was loose with the ball. I had more turnovers than wanted. This year I was picking my choices wisely with some risks seeing it work out.”

Stansberry is receiving extra offseason help to fine tune his talents.

“I continue to get smoother in my throwing motion; I am working to polish that up completely,” Stansberry stated. “I am working with Quincy Avery; he is big with NFL guys. Speed and agility is what I am really pushing to expand that part of my game. I am working overall on getting better.”

An offer in hand from Eastern Kentucky, game-day visits over the fall months were taken to Middle Tennessee State and Indiana. New interest is coming Stansberry’s way.

“I’m getting a lot of Ivy League interest from teams like Cornell and Dartmouth,” Stansberry said. “MTSU is reaching out a lot as well. Recently, I started talking to Elon and Furman. I text with a coach on Ole Miss’s staff and Indiana.”

Dartmouth, Cornell, MTSU, and Elon have dropped by Oak Ridge to see the 2026 recruit in the new year. The growing rapport with MTSU, Cornell, and Dartmouth were covered.

MTSU: “They have invited me to campus and have kept reaching out. They have invited me to camps and have stayed in touch with me a lot. They have gone through the process with me. They want me back on campus and want to see me throw in the spring.”

Cornell: “They have really started by them coming up to the school. Their head coach followed me on Twitter; he was Penn’s offensive coordinator then. He’s been following me for a while. They came to my school; we sat down, and they went over the process for me.”

Dartmouth: “Our relationship is pretty good. They came by in December; they ran through what they are all about, and it has been good since then. They are sending me invites to Junior Days and to camps; they want me up to campus at some point.”

A recruiting trip next month is penciled in for Stansberry.

“In March, I believe I am going to Furman,” Stansberry stated. “That is the one I know for sure at the moment.”

Asked about his potential trip to learn more about the Paladins, Stansberry replied, “For me, recruiting is sports and academics. Furman has exciting opportunities with both, and Furman is in a nice place in South Carolina.”

Stansberry jumped on the recruiting scene as a sophomore passing for 2,617 yards with 22 touchdowns adding two scores on the ground in 12 games.

Photo credit: Stansberry family; Blaine Standberry at Indiana and with Cornell coach Jared Backus.