Utah lands commitment from rising defensive back CJ Blocker

Utah dipped into Texas once again on Tuesday afternoon as the Utes landed a commitment from New Caney (Texas) cornerback CJ Blocker.

Blocker turned down other Power Five offers from Nebraska, Purdue and more as the relationships with cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley helped seal the deal for the Utes.

"Before I even stepped foot in Utah, I had talked to Coach Shah for months and since day one we have had the best connection throughout all of my recruitment," Blocker said. "Coach Scalley had a great connection with me as well and they are a great program in many aspects, not just football. They are also close with my family as well, but the visit to Utah was unbelievably special and it was a no brainer for me to choose Utah."

Blocker's official visit proved to be the deal sealer for the Utes as the atmosphere around campus with the coaches and players were noticed from the jump.

"Going in, me and my family thought very highly of Utah but I’d say the visit was the icing on the cake," he said. "To start of the visit off, we got there and off the bat the vibes and atmosphere were great and the staff that picked us up took us on a little tour on the way to our hotel."

The activities around the visit made Blocker feel at home, but it was his conversations with the coaching staff that showed him his future in football in Salt Lake City as well.

"The coaches and staff were very genuine and knew their stuff," he said. "The meeting with Coach Shah was a fun experience as we talked ball and also announced to him my commitment to join them and be a Ute as well as a meeting with Kyle Whittingham. I announced to him that I would be joining the fam and he was pumped up and joyful. The whole visit, I formed new connections and new bonds with people I’d love to surround my self around."

Blocker also got to connect with players on the visit and see firsthand how life as a player at Utah is.

"We did a lot of activities like have a carnival basically in the backyard of the football facility, we also went to the city fair," Blocker said. "I got to hang out with some of the players and they were great guys that were straight ball and worked hard. "

Blocker becomes Utah's seventh commit in the 2023 class and the second from the state of Texas, joining fellow Houston native Jo'Laison Landry.

At 6-foot-0, 165 pounds, Blocker has not yet been rated by Rivals. His rating will come this week.

Blocker possesses positional versatility in the secondary as he has experience at boundary corner, nickel and safety playing at the 5A level in the state of Texas.

His length allows him to jam receivers at corner, but it's his range at safety that may be what he could best excel at for the next level. The Utes see Blocker as a defensive back with versatility, so expect him to start out at corner to use his length early on before shading back further into the defensive backfield.

One of the bigger sleeper prospects in the state of Texas, Blocker has had a big offseason in spring football and on the track and field where he posted a personal-best 10.78 in the 100-meter and and 18'11" in the long jump. With his verified speed and explosion, he will be able to keep up with some of the quicker PAC-12 receiving threats.