The University of Utah received some unfortunate but justified news on Friday, as soon-to-be junior Jason Shelley entered the NCAA transfer portal. The quarterback, who moved to safety for the Utes 2019 bowl game, understandably wants to continue to play at his preferred position.

The opportunity for Shelley to play quarterback wasn’t going to happen at Utah, as the Utes recently welcomed grad transfer and one-time SEC starting quarterback, Jake Bentley. Utah’s program also saw the ascension of Cam Rising as the future for them at the position, after he put on a show for the scout team at times against Utah’s vaunted 2019 first-team defense.

The Utah fan base will always have a soft spot for Shelley and look back at their memories of him fondly. In 2018, he took over for an injured Tyler Huntley and led the team to a 3-2 record after they were counted out— taking them to their first ever Pac-12 Championship Game.

After a strong closing performance and and another impressive showing in spring ball, Shelley fell to third on the depth chart, as Drew Lisk was reportedly performing better in practices. However, Shelley was the go-to if they ever needed extended action. Shelley always conducted himself with true class, celebrated his teammates’ success, and never let any frustrations show—when most in his situation probably would have.

During bowl practices, the program was high on his potential at safety—a position of extreme need for them—and even though a move there could possibly extend his football career with his intriguing potential, it looks as though Shelley wants all opportunities to prove himself at the quarterback position.

Alex Markham’s take on the situation

Shelley is the ultimate team guy and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope whatever route he goes, he’s careful and that he truly gets a shot at quarterback, instead of being lied to by a G5 program and ultimately ending up at a different position. That’s definitely my fear for him in this situation.

Do I feel like he’d still be here had the team not demoted him to third-string for the season, even though he was the backup if it was extended action and not mop-up time? Potentially. I’m sure that was a confusing and frustrating situation for him, but he didn’t let that show on the field and I commend him for it.

Even with his transfer, the Utes were already set at quarterback, but safety is a different story. Now, they’ll likely have to search the portal for a safety transfer of their own—and they were probably even needing to go that route, regardless.

Aside from a healthy RJ Hubert, I don’t know that there’s another safety on the roster that I can say I’d feel comfortable starting in a Pac-12 game. However, I do think new 4-star signee Nate Ritchie is more than capable to step in immediately. I expect there to be a lot of experimenting in spring ball, and look for multiple guys to switch positions to playing safety. One player that I personally think could benefit from a position switch to safety would be TJ Green, but we’re a few weeks away from seeing what the coaches have in mind.