Indianapolis Colts Scouts Detail What They Liked About Former Utah Safety Julian Blackmon

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Multiple scouts from the Indianapolis Colts recently detailed what they saw in former Utah Utes safety Julian Blackmon during the pre-draft process.

In April, the Colts selected Blackmon with the 85th overall pick during the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

“He’s a rangy, athletic, free safety who’s played corner. So, he’s got a lot of versatility to him and he played corner for two years, he was successful doing it,” Chris McGaha, an area scout for Indianapolis with an emphasis on players from the West Coast, told Colts.com.

Matt Terpening, Indianapolis’ assistant director of college scouting, also detailed what he liked about Blackmon.

“Julian is really unique. So as a junior last year, he actually thought about coming out, he played corner, and he decided to stay in school, which was the right move for him,” Terpening said. “They (Utah) moved him to safety. And he just had a lights-out season, lights-out senior season. He really jumps off tape. He’s got versatility. He’s got speed. And he can cover.”

In May, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said that Blackmon is a “game-changer” with his “ability to take the football away.”

“The first thing that pops off the tape right there is his ability to take the football away. So when you have that ability, you are what we call a game-changer,” Eberflus told reporters. “You are a guy that can help us win football games by taking the football away. So that is number one.”

Welcome to Indy, @JumpManJuice23! #ColtsDraft pic.twitter.com/w6YSTiIjcy

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) April 25, 2020

Julian Blackmon’s Collegiate Career

The Layton, Utah native started his successful college career at Utah in 2016 where he appeared in 9 games on special teams and four games on defense.

Blackmon’s sophomore season in 2017 saw him start in all 13 games at cornerback. He racked up 4 interceptions, 10 passes breakups, 6 pass breakups, and 48 tackles. Blackmon was named second-team All-Pac-12.

Julian Blackmon had one FBS offer out of Layton HS. That's all he needed. Here is a look back at what he accomplished with @Utah_Football and what he brings to the @Colts @JumpManJuice23 #ColtsDraft #NFLDraft2020 pic.twitter.com/yn7I066ZFF

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) April 25, 2020

In 2018 at cornerback, Blackmon started in all 14 games while leading Utah with 10 pass breakups and 11 passes defended. He also had one interception, 48 tackles, and 4 tackles for loss which led to him being named second-team All-Pac-12.