After a journey from Division II to the CFP title game, Levittown’s David Blay sets his sights on the NFL

FRISCO, Texas — Four days after a heartbreaking College Football Playoff national championship game loss, Levittown native David Blay was back in football pads. Last week, Blay, whose five-year career spanned three schools and two levels of college football, practiced against some of the other draft eligible prospects in the East-West Shrine Bowl.

His college career began locally at Division II West Chester, where he spent two years, then spanned two years at Louisiana Tech, before finishing this past season with national title runner-up Miami. Blay, a defensive lineman, played 22 snaps against Indiana in last week’s College Football Playoff title game and finished with one tackle in the 27-21 loss.

Blay, a graduate of Harry S. Truman High School, gained a unique perspective in all three stops along the way, which included two years (his first at West Chester and first at Louisiana Tech) of not seeing the field much.

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“For West Chester, time management, the process of doing things at certain times [at] the correct time, and doing the correct things,” Blay told The Inquirer about what he learned. “And then for [Louisiana] Tech, they taught me the brotherhood aspect, because when I transferred into Louisiana Tech, about six or seven defensive linemen alone transferred in there at the same time. So it was like everybody had the same vision, the same goal. So it was easy to play against somebody I can call my brother.

“[With Miami], having camaraderie with the team wasn’t that hard. They’re outgoing guys, so bringing me in wasn’t that hard. Me, I’m more of — I guess you could say a quiet guy."

At Miami, snaps weren’t easy to come by for Blay, with potential first-round picks Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor manning the edge rusher positions and Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott starting in the interior. Blay was on the field with Miami’s defense on 412 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. For reference, he played 443 defensive snaps in one less game in 2024 for Louisiana Tech.

But Blay, who amassed 95 tackles (23½ for loss) and 11½ sacks in four seasons at Louisiana Tech and West Chester, carved out a consistent rotational role on Miami’s D-line during a title run that Blay “will remember for the rest of [his] life.” The 6-foot-2, 302-pound lineman credits his discipline to refine his skills, which helped get him on the field at the Power Four level.

“In terms of getting on the field and playing, I just really had to be real technically sound,” said Blay, who had 28 tackles (2½ for loss) in 13 games with Miami. “Like I feel as if going to Miami, the big thing there was [to be] technical, technical, technical. That’s the difference between the levels in my head.”

Blay was joined by Indiana safety Louis Moore and Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe as players who appeared in the national championship game and also practiced at least one day at the Shrine Bowl. Indiana’s Riley Nowakowski also traveled to Frisco to interview with NFL teams, but did not practice.

Throughout his practice sessions at the Shrine Bowl, which wrapped up with the game on Tuesday night, Blay showed his strength capable of pushing the pocket as a pass rusher and standing his ground as a run defender against double team blocks.

“I give those guys a lot of credit,” said Shrine Bowl director Eric Galko. “And Wesley [Bissainthe] and David [Blay] are coming in like everyone else, they’re banged up, but they just played 16 games, right? Not 12, like other guys have. And David’s done great, in the practice he had and in the interviews he has had too. … I think David showed a lot of character — especially with the way the season ended, not on a victory, but on a loss — and he still said, ‘You know what? Now I’m on [to] the NFL.’ And to be focused here, I give the guy a lot of credit.”

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Added Blay: “Just the aspect that we’re getting better every day [motivates me]. You’re never at your best, in a sense you can always get better. And I also say to my mom, I’m trying to get her to understand the aspects of the game and how it could change your life.”

Blay played his high school and the beginning of his college career about 30 miles from Lincoln Financial Field. An opportunity to play for his hometown Eagles would be “a dream scenario.”

“Being around the crib, I could go work out, go practice, go do my job, and then essentially come home to the people I’ve seen my whole entire life,” Blay said.