Vikings hopeful Khari Blasingame has clear goals beyond NFL

The students in Dr. Gilman Whiting's classes at Vanderbilt often arrive carrying twin loads: the demands of being a Southeastern Conference athlete, and the academic rigor associated with one of the nation's most prestigious universities.

Whiting, a former sprinter who competed in the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials, has spent 16 years at Vanderbilt, teaching African-American and Diaspora Studies courses designed to reach young black athletes who've landed at the school because of their athletic gifts but might not yet realize the depths of their potential in other areas.

As soon as Khari Blasingame — a chiseled football player from Huntsville, Ala. — spoke up in Whiting's classes, the professor…