Reed Blankenship’s first job on a farm – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Every week during the 2025 season, we browse the Eagles media guide to find an interesting nugget.

The Eagles PR team does a great job filling in these little quirks in the media guide and is a good way to meet the players behind the helmets.

This week we spoke with safety Reed Blankenship, whose first job was working on a farm back home in Alabama.

Me: He says your first job was working on a farm in high school.

Blankenship: Yes.

Me: Tell me what you did on this farm.

Blankenship: So I think a lot of high school kids, a lot of my friends, kind of contributed and worked there. It was a chicken farm. We also transport hay during the summer. Square balls. We would legitimately go from football practice in the morning, straight to the hayfield, then work all day with each other, then come home and get paid for it.

Me: How old were you?

Blankenship: What was I… 16. 15, 16. It was fun. It was obviously a different environment. It was hard. But you were there with your friends.

Me: Did this help you build strength?

Blankenship: Absolutely. It’s like this natural force. No matter how heavy they are, you throw them on a trailer and stack them. Once you have them stacked you have to unload them into a hay barn so you have to throw them away. It’s like power is cleaning again.

Me: But was it like you and your friends?

Blankenship: Yeah, it was me and my friends. It was a handful of us that went there and worked. It was just different. It was fun. But it was work, obviously.

Me: But change in your pocket at this age?

Blankenship: Absolutely. It was great to get cash, get a check. Use it on the weekend, whether for gas or otherwise.

Me: What purchase did you need money for at the time?

Blankenship: Well, I wanted to upgrade my truck. The thing in the south was to blow up your truck.

Me: What does that mean?

Blankenship: No silencer in principle. Take the muffler off and it would just be loud. Almost everyone has done this. I did it with my money. Just save up for your truck or save up to eat at the Waffle House.

Me: I just imagine your high school teachers saying, “Dude, here they come again. »

Blankenship: My mother said, “I hear you coming down the street. I knew you were home.

Me: Did that teach you work ethic and that sort of thing?

Blankenship: Absolutely. Even before that too, how I was raised. Give 110 percent. My father always said that, my mother always said that. No matter what I do, whether it’s school, whether it’s outside of football, whether it’s sports, I always give my best.

Me: Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

Blankenship: No problem.