JULIAN BLACKMON, S – UTAH: 3rd RD, 85th pick, Indianapolis Colts
Now an NFL DB, Julian Blackmon wasn’t always destined for the league. He only received one Division I football scholarship offer coming out of Layton High School. Even then, he didn’t receive the offer until Utes DC Morgan Scalley attended one of his HS playoff basketball games. What Scalley saw during that game is what made Blackmon a 3x All-Pac-12 performer and also what makes him a solid pro prospect – ELITE athleticism. Blackmon played 2 season at corner before moving to his more natural safety position. Playing deep, Blackmon is able to utilize his range and ability to cover ground. Additionally, he’s more than capable of playing up at the LOS and stopping the run. Scalley even calling him “the best open-field tackler I’ve coached.” An ACL tear in the Pac-12 Championship game was something many expected to drop Blackmon into the later rounds of the draft, but the Colts didn’t see it that way.
HOMETOWN HERO: BLACKMON WHILE IN SLC (via Utah Athletics)
UTAH: 2019 All-American and three-time All-Pac-12, twice at cornerback (2017-18) and at safety as a senior (2019) … MVP of the Heart of Dallas Bowl as a sophomore … played in 48 games with 39 starts … nine career interceptions … 29 career passes defended.
2019: Earned second-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and AFCA … named a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, The Athletic and Pro Football Focus while earning second-team honors from USA Today and third-team honors from Phil Steele … first-team All-Pac-12 … finalist for Polynesian Player of the Year … started 12 games at free safety, missing the Idaho State game and Alamo Bowl … tied for the Pac-12 lead and 17th in FBS with four interceptions … eight total passes defended (4 PBU) tied for 13th in the Pac-12 … fourth on the team with 60 tackles (4.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks) … tied for the team lead and eighth in the Pac-12 with two forced fumbles … named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after recording a career-high 12 tackles vs. UCLA with 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception … eight tackles vs. Northern Illinois and also had an interception … tied his career high with eight tackles, including an assisted TFL, and had an interception vs. Washington … tied for the team lead with five tackles against BYU and returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown … five tackles and forced a fumble against Arizona State.
2018–Second-team All-Pac-12 … started all 14 games at corner … led Utah with 10 pass breakups (tied for fifth in the Pac-12) … led Utah and tied for eighth in the Pac-12 with 11 passes defended (10 PBU, 1 INT) … 48 tackles (4.0 TFL) … season-high seven tackles and a pass breakup against Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game … six tackles against Washington State … five tackles, a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown and two pass breakups against BYU … five tackles (1.0 TFL) vs. Oregon … four tackles and three pass breakups against Northern Illinois … two pass breakups against Weber State … four tackles included a tackle for loss against UCLA … four tackles vs. Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl… three tackles and a pass breakup vs. Stanford.
2017–Second-team All-Pac-12 … started all 13 games … led Utah in interceptions (4) and passes defended (10), while tying for third and ninth, respectively, in the Pac-12 … tied for the team lead in pass breakups (6) … 48 tackles … MVP of the Heart of Dallas Bowl had two interceptions in win over West Virginia … named to the Associated Press and ESPN All-Bowl teams … career-high eight tackles against Arizona State … six tackles at Oregon … five tackles against Stanford and Washington … interceptions against North Dakota and San Jose State … one kick return for 16 yards vs. ASU … honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic.
2016–Played in nine games on special teams and appeared on defense in four games … two tackles … two kickoff returns for 26 yards.
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