With 39 days left until Utah Football’s season opener against Florida, today we discuss no. 39 junior Jadon Pearson in the UteNation countdown to kickoff series. The former Reedley College (CA) safety saw action in 13 games in 2022, mostly on special teams.

Before coming to Utah, Pearson played in 11 games for Reedley College in 2021, recording 74 tackles (9.0 TFL), three interceptions, and four PBUs on his way to earning All-Valley first-team honors.

This past spring, Pearson chose to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal two days before Utah’s 22 Forever Game. However, he had second thoughts and the program supported him for a return.

UteNation Take

With Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki coming back after being the primary starters in 2022, Pearson will look to be a key depth piece player in his second season at Utah. Pearson brings really good size to the safety spot at 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds.

Similar to most Utah safeties, Pearson brings versatility to the position and could play at either the strong or free safety spot. He brings a physical style of play with good ball skills.

With recent additions to the safety room, Pearson could crack the rotation, but it’s most likely that he’ll continue to be a key part of Utah’s special teams.

Remembering Pearson’s Recruitment

Pearson held nine offers from a variety of schools, including Florida State, Missouri, Oregon State, and Washington State before committing to Air Force in the 2019 class. He saw action in two games during the 2020 COVID season before transferring to Reedley College for 2020 and then Utah in 2021. Oregon State was also in the mix coming out of Reedley, but Utah beat out the Pac-12 foe for Pearson’s services.