Julian Blackmon (born August 24, 1998) is an American professional football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah.
 Blackmon with Utah in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 32 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: | August 24, 1998 Layton, Utah, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Layton | ||||||||||||||||
| College: | Utah (2016–2019) | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / round: 3 / pick: 85 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
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Early years
editBlackmon attended Layton High School in Layton, Utah. He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. A 3-star recruit, Blackmon committed to Utah to play college football over offers from Idaho, Southern Utah, and Weber State.[1][2] Blackmon also played basketball in high school.[3]
College career
editBlackmon played at Utah from 2016 to 2019. He played his first three years as a cornerback before switching to safety for his senior season.[4][5] As a sophomore in 2017, he was named the MVP of the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl.[6] As a senior in 2019, he was named a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. He finished his career starting 39 of 48 games, recording 158 tackles, nine interceptions, 1.5 sacks and two touchdowns.
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wonderlic | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+3⁄4 in (1.82 m) |
187 lb (85 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
22 | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[7] | ||||||||||||
Blackmon was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with their third-round (85th-overall) pick in the 2020 NFL draft.[8] He was placed on the active/non-football injury list on July 27, 2020.[9] He was activated on August 31, 2020.[10]
In Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, Blackmon recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Nick Foles during the 19–11 win.[11] In Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Blackmon intercepted a pass thrown by fellow rookie Joe Burrow late in the fourth quarter to secure a 31–27 Colts' win.[12] In Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, Blackmon forced a fumble on Packers' wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling which was recovered by teammate DeForest Buckner early in overtime to help the Colts win the game 34–31 by a game winning field goal.[13]
During practice for Week 7 of the 2021 season, Blackmon tore his Achilles and was placed on injured reserve on October 23, 2021, ending his season.[14]
Blackmon returned as a full-time starter in 2023, recording a career-high 88 tackles and a team-high eight passes defensed.
On April 2, 2024, the Colts re-signed Blackmon to a one-year, $7.7 million contract.[15]
Personal life
editIn February 2024, Blackmon announced his engagement to his girlfriend Tyra Gilmore.[16] They got married on July 12, 2024.[17]
References
edit- ^ Piper, Matthew (July 21, 2015). "Layton CB/WR Julian Blackmon commits to childhood favorite Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ "Julian Blackmon, 2016 Wide Receiver, Utah". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ Sorensen, Mike (August 19, 2019). "Julian Blackmon glad he gave up basketball for football and is now a star as Ute safety". Deseret News.
- ^ Monson, Gordon (August 10, 2019). "Monson: Julian Blackmon becomes a safety-first kind of guy for his senior season at Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ Kragthorpe, Kurt (March 5, 2019). "Julian Blackmon gets a new perspective as a Ute safety, and he likes what he sees after moving from cornerback". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ Carr, Patrick. "Layton alum, Utah DB Julian Blackmon deals with increased preseason attention". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ "Julian Blackmon Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (April 24, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft: Colts Select Safety Julian Blackmon With 85th-Overall Pick". Colts.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "Julian Blackmon Placed On Active/Non-Football Injury List". Colts.com. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Julian Blackmon Removed From NFI List". Colts.com. August 31, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts at Chicago Bears - October 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts – October 18th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "Green Bay Packers at Indianapolis Colts - November 22nd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "Colts Activate G Quenton Nelson From Injured Reserve, Place S Julian Blackmon On Injured Reserve, Elevate WR Keke Coutee and Safety Josh Jones To Active Roster From Practice Squad". Colts.com. October 23, 2021.
- ^ Holder, Stephen (April 2, 2024). "Source: Safety Julian Blackmon re-signing with Colts". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Ireland, Kyle (February 26, 2024). "Colts Safety Julian Blackmon Announces Engagement To Former Jazz Dancer". KSL Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Destin (July 16, 2024). "Multiple Colts teammates showed up to celebrate Julian Blackmon's big day". A to Z Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2024.