Leading by Following
Julian Blackmon and Tom Hager
In Partnership with Athletes For God
For the entire month of October 2017, the Utah football team failed to win a single game.
The same team who finished September at 4-0 entered November without a winning record. This was not what Julian Blackmon had envisioned when he signed his Letter of Intent to play at "The U", as locals call the University of Utah. Worst of all was the 28-27 loss to USC, a game that the Utes had every chance of winning.
"A lot of heads went down after that game, but one thing I like the most, there wasn't any finger pointing. We weren't the team (who said) 'Oh, we should have done this and this and this,' it wasn't so much of that," Blackmon said. "It was more of alright, shoot, we lost ... we just need to figure out what we've got to do better."
One thing the team realized was that they needed each other more at that point than ever before. The Utes have an acronym for themselves - United Together Eternal Soldiers. Whether the team was going to win or lose, they were going to do it together.
"The friendship on this team, it really is a brotherhood," Blackmon said. "We really believe in that, just being with these guys everyday, we all realize it's not just one of us going through the grind, it's not just one of us losing, it's all of us."
The forging of a brotherhood was nothing new for Blackmon, whose older brother was a role model for him growing up. Jarriesse Blackmon played basketball alongside Julian in high school, and the two won a state championship together. Jarriesse was a year older, and when he left to go play basketball at UC-Santa Barbara, Julian suffered an identity crisis.
"The reason it was such a big adversity for me is because I did everything he did. I followed in his footsteps," Blackmon said. "Just not having him, I was kind of lost. I didn't know what to do with myself, because at the time I hadn't found who I really was."
The answer came in the form of his relationship with God.
It couldn't have come at a better time for Blackmon, because at that point he wasn't worried about any losing streak with the Utes. He was just trying to get a scholarship anywhere, and at that point, he didn't have one.
"When it came to praying before I would make that big step, I would always just say 'Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this day. I just want to sit down and talk to you about my progress.' " Blackmon recalled. " 'I've been working so hard, and I just hope that what you have in store for me is more than what it is right now.' I just prayed that He would continue blessing me and just thanking Him for even getting me as far as I was."
Utah, which was located just 20 minutes south from his hometown of his Layton, had yet to offer him a scholarship. They were no different from every other school who was passing on Blackmon, but in the summer before his senior year, the offer came through.
Blackmon was heading down the road to be a Ute.
Flash forward to his sophomore season, and at 4-4 Utah's season was at a crossroads. The Utes broke the losing streak with a 48-17 win over UCLA, only to lose the next two games to stand at 5-6. If the Utes wanted to finish the year with a winning record, they would have to win the regular season finale and try to find their way into a bowl game.
When Utah ran out of the tunnel for the last game of the 2017 regular season, Blackmon knew where to look to find his family.
His dad hasn't missed a single game since Julian first put on the red and black Utah jersey, but their relationship with the program went way farther back then that. They watched in 2004 as the Utes went undefeated, and in 2008 as they did it again. Julian now wanted to give his dad something to cheer about like they had years before.
Of course, the Blackmons weren't the only ones interested in the outcome of this game. So much was riding on this game for Utah - a loss to Colorado would mean the Utes spiraled out of control to a 5-7 record to end the season. A win against the Buffaloes would make them bowl eligible.
But before the game started, Blackmon's mind was at peace.
"I always pray before every game and just make sure I'm comfortable in what I'm feeling, (that) the Lord is going to watch over me and make sure I come out of the game okay," Blackmon said. "As far as I've done this, I'm still okay."
Blackmon gave his dad plenty to cheer about that night. The Utes held CU quarterback Stephen Montez to less than 200 yards on 50 percent passing. The 34-13 victory catapulted the Utes to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, where Blackmon had arguably the best game of his life.
Blackmon recorded not one but two interceptions en route to winning the Heart of Dallas Bowl MVP Award. His team held West Virginia quarterback Chris Chugunov to 9-28 passing as Utah came away with a 30-14 victory. As a result, the Utes entered the offseason with a winning record.
"Honestly, it was tough, just going through all the high and lows, and I'm super competitive and I just don't like losing at all. It was definitely a learning curve for me to know that this was a young team and we had a lot to learn before we could be great," Blackmon said. "I just took that into perspective and understood that maybe we're not going to win all these games, but they're definitely going to teach us to keep pushing and keep fighting, because now that we know what it is to lose, we know how to win."
Now that Blackmon is coming off his MVP performance, he is being looked to as one of the leaders on the team. During the spring practice, Utah coach Kyle Wittingham pulled his star cornerback aside and talked to him about leadership.
"Me and Coach Wittingham talked about leadership because of the year I had, I could affect other players in how I react to things," Blackmon said.
The ironic part is that the more Blackmon became a follower of Christ, the more he could become a leader of men. He showed hard work. Accountability. Optimism. Hope.
Blackmon would help lead the team in morning sprints, and do so without complaint. If he wanted to be great, Blackmon realized, he needed to make sure his mindset and approach reflected that.
As for all kids trying to follow in his footsteps, Blackmon had a message for them.
"Believe in what they want to do - if they want to do something, then go out for it, don't let anyone tell them that they can't do it," Blackmon said. "That was something I was told over and over again, yet still I just believed in myself and I had faith in the Lord, that He would get me to where I am, and it's only proven to be correct."