When you lose out on a safety that changes his mind the night before Signing Day, what do you do? Well, not everyone is fortunate enough to move one of the Pac-12’s best cornerbacks to safety—but not everyone is the University of Utah.

Taking a risk due to their quality depth, defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley moved senior Julian Blackmon to safety—a move that now looks to be pure genius.

After a standout spring, the Pac-12 media voted Blackmon All-Pac-12 first-team safety. In his short time there, he’s even had comparisons to former Ute and current New Orleans Saint, Marcus Williams. After an injury-plagued 2018 season that still saw him garner All-Pac-12 honors, Blackmon should return to his ballhawk ways, while remaining a terror against Pac-12 quarterbacks.

Andrew Fronce’s take

Julian Blackmon’s move to safety may be the most exciting news for the entire Utah defense, and maybe for the team as a whole. Blackmon played at an all-conference level as a sophomore and junior at cornerback, but his ball skills and athleticism make his ceiling even higher at safety. During spring ball, Blackmon could be seen roaming the backfield and regularly breaking up passes or picking them off. One of the big things that’s different between playing corner and safety is that he will be required to play much more run support, but Blackmon proved himself to be a reliable tackler over the past two years, and was a better hitter than your typical corner. On top of all that, Blackmon put on about 5-10 pounds of good weight during the summer, and is now up to 204 pounds- which is heavier than either Corrion Ballard and Marquise Blair were last season.

Alex Remembers Blackmon’s Recruitment:

A two sport star, Blackmon had flashed some impressive ball skills as a three-star wide receiver, but only two FBS schools came calling—Utah and Idaho (the latter has since moved to the FCS level). Part of the reason for the lack of recruitment was after he committed to Utah, he only played in three high school games before ending his senior year with an injury. This allowed the Utes to keep a hidden local gem, who otherwise would have blown up in his recruitment.