What Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah prioritized when targeting players in transfer portal

Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah during Utah Utes football spring practice in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Anna Fuder This article was first published in the Ute Insiders newslett er . Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.

Just like last season, there’s been a lot of change in the cornerback room for Utah ahead of the 2026 campaign. Prior to the 2025 season, the Utes had to replace Cam Calhoun and Zemaiah Vaughn, doing so by elevating Scooby Davis to full-time starter alongside nickel Smith Snowden and bringing in Blake Cotton from the transfer portal. As a whole, Utah’s pass defense was among the best in the country, allowing just 177.

8 passing yards per game. There were shaky moments throughout the season for Utah’s cornerbacks — especially early on — but the group rounded into form by the middle of the season. There was room for improvement — Snowden had a PFF grade of 69.

3, Cotton 64. 8 and Davis 58. 2 — but by and large, the cornerback position was not a glaring issue on Utah’s defense, especially with the run game deficiencies that dominated the last two regular-season games.