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SALT LAKE CITY — Julian Blackmon had only three offers to play college football heading into his senior season at Layton High, all from lower division programs in Utah and Idaho.
As a three-star recruit and underrated player, Blackmon had failed to grab the attention of top football programs around the country. On July 16, 2015, however, Blackmon got the scholarship offer he’d been dreaming of since he was a little kid: an offer to play cornerback at the University of Utah, his favorite team.
Blackmon split time as a star athlete on both the gridiron and the basketball court in high school, excelling at both. But a season-ending injury three games into the football season his senior year derailed a promising start. In the first three games, Blackmon led the team in carries and receptions and was emerging in the kickoff return game, in addition to his talent on defense.
In his freshman season at Utah, Blackmon played in nine games on special teams and had periodic opportunities on defense. But Blackmon waited in the background for his time to come.
Now a sophomore, Blackmon has emerged as a leader among an inexperienced secondary unit looking to make a mark in a difficult Pac-12. His coach, Sharrieff Shah, does not like to name starters out of principle, but said the former Layton product has earned a spot in his rotation “without question.”
“What I like to say to my guys is you have to earn my trust so you can get in the rotation. You have to earn my trust,” Shah said. “I don’t know who the starter is and I don’t project nobody to be a starter. But I can tell you that he’s in the rotation without question.”
Despite little game experience in college, Blackmon is coming into the season with confidence and a veteran mentality. Blackmon jumped onto the scene in spring with a strong showing on defense. Throughout fall, he’s been matched up against Utah’s top receivers and has held his own.
Blackmon said having the addition of players like Darren Carrington on the offensive side of the ball has given him the confidence he can play against anyone in the conference.
“Honestly, I do feel like I can go up against anyone, especially after guarding Darren,” he said. “Every day me and Darren go at it and he gets me better and I get him better. It’s just really fun to know that I can actually do this. It gives me confidence just going up against other receivers. I think I’m ready.”
Whether Blackmon is ready will soon be determined, but Shah said the sophomore has finally recognized that “he can play with anybody in the conference.”
“His own intelligence has gotten so much better on the defense — just knowing his assignment and where he needs to be and where the help is and where he may be able to lose a guy depending on the coverage or scheme,” Shah said. “So he’s become smarter — he’s super, super smart.”
That confidence and smarter level of play from Blackmon has been a byproduct of the offense raising its passing profile, most notably the varied routes offensive coordinator Troy Taylor has the receivers running.
“I would say that it helps us with our man coverage a lot more with the new offense because they pass it more,” Blackmon said. “We’re more of a pass-based offense this year, and so we have to really heavy up on being able to cover guys and being in the right spots at the right time. I think that’s going to really help us when it comes to the actual season.”
Shah said Taylor’s offense has been a great addition to help his inexperienced corners, including Blackmon, get the reps in before the season starts.
“Coach Taylor is really good in his pass concepts. He knows exactly what he wants to do and it’s been different in the way that we’ve seen route combinations develop,” Shah said. “He does everything to a defense that is unbelievably hard. You have a running quarterback, you put that running quarterback back into position to pull defenders out of certain help positions and puts solo matchups on guys. He does everything you hate all in one practice. That helps you, it makes you better.”
With the experience against improved receivers, Blackmon believes Utah’s secondary can be even better than last season.
“Honestly, I feel like we’re better than last year,” Blackmon said. “With or without the experience, I just feel like the mindset and everything about this team is just better than last year. I can’t do anything but just wait for you guys to see.”
