The University of Utah football team received a commitment on Sunday from 6-foot-2 and 220 pound safety Clayton Isbell. Isbell recently announced his transfer from Illinois State and had since received scholarship offers from Utah, Virginia Tech, SMU and others.

Isbell earned HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-American honors in 2019 playing nickelback. He totaled 23 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and interceptions. This past season, he finished with 37 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and three interceptions.

He visited Utah over the weekend and made his announcement on Twitter.

What Utah Is getting

Isbell is a big-bodied, versatile defensive back that could play anywhere in the secondary, but his home at Utah will be one of the two safety spots. He’s long-levered, has nice speed, solid range, and plays the game with physicality. Isbell fits the mold of the historically successful Utah safeties.

With only one starting spot all but assured to Cole Bishop, Isbell will arrive on campus in the fall with a golden opportunity to step right into the starting lineup or at least initially be a key fixture in the rotation.

What this means for the class

The Utes were desperately in need of some experienced help at safety and that’s exactly what Isbell gives them. He joins Logan Kendall, Landon Morris, Gabe Reid as incoming transfers on scholarship this offseason.

Going forward into the summer, receiver is the one key position that the Utah staff will hope to add an impact transfer.