Why cornerback Smith Snowden returned to Utah after getting offers to leave this spring

It’s been quite the offseason for Utah cornerback Smith Snowden.

In both transfer portal windows, especially the spring one, rumors flew about whether the star cornerback was going to enter the transfer portal.

Then the spring portal closed without an entry from Snowden, who simply posted on social media: “The pride and tradition of the Utah Utes will never be entrusted to the timid or the weak. Go Utes.”

So, what really happened during that transfer portal period?

In a video published by the Daily Universe’s Sam Foster during July’s Big 12 media days, Snowden replied to a question about if BYU reached out to him this offseason.

Reporter: “Did BYU reach out to you?”

Smith Snowden: “It wasn’t directly to me, but…”#byufootball#utahfootballpic.twitter.com/SbvKQZyCgd

— Sam Foster (@Samfos1er) July 9, 2025

“It wasn’t directly to me,” Snowden replied. “… BYU wasn’t the only school (to reach out). It’s kind of what the name of the game is right, with the transfer portal. I wouldn’t say that it was any tampering type thing, it was more of agents and all that type of stuff.”

Snowden came out the other side determined to be a Ute, and of course will be taken care of with revenue sharing and NIL deals.

“You don’t retain two first-rounders (offensive linemen Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu) and guys like Smith Snowden and others if you don’t have capital and great donors involved,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in an interview on ESPN 700.

However, the decision to continue his career at Utah came down to more than money for Snowden.

“I think the ultimate thing that led me to stay was just the brotherhood that I had made here and the relationships. It’s really been the biggest part of, since I’ve been a Utah man, just building relationships with obviously Lander (Barton), these guys right here and just everyone on the team,” Snowden said.

“It’s a really family-oriented program and that’s something that coach (Kyle Whittingham) and coach (Morgan) Scalley and now coach (Jason) Beck have really continued to enforce on us. Don’t get confused, don’t be selfish. Know that you have a team and teams win championships, not players.”

There’s also the relationship that Snowden has with Scalley and cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah, not to mention Utah’s recent history of sending cornerbacks to the NFL — Jaylon Johnson and Clark Phillips III as examples.

In his first full-time starting season for Utah last year, Snowden proved to be indispensable for Scalley, becoming not only one of the best cornerbacks on the team, but one of Utah’s best defensive players overall.

Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 72 for the season, including a 70.7 grade in coverage — No. 4 on the team. Snowden primarily played nickelback and finished with 48 tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions and eight pass breakups.

Both of those interceptions were memorable.

The first, against Utah State, was a one-handed pick in the end zone to steal a touchdown away from Aggies wide receiver Kyrese White.

The second, in the season finale against UCF, Snowden broke on the ball perfectly and ran untouched into the end zone to put a bow on Utah’s win.

OUR SECOND PICK 6 ON THE NIGHT‼️

📺: FOX#GoUtes | @SnowdenSmithpic.twitter.com/SoioZtGGxK

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 30, 2024

Snowden had a successful season personally, but there’s always room to grow.

What has he been working on this spring?

“Really his desire to be .. more physical,” Shah shared this spring. “It started in winter session. He was taking on blocks in shirts and shorts like it was full pads.”

Snowden’s ability to stick with his man in coverage and anticipate passes has made him one of Utah’s most valuable assets. This winter, Scalley said with Snowden being as good as he is, that he “should not leave the field.”

When Utah doesn’t have a nickel out there on defense, it’s expected that Snowden will slide over to outside corner. While he played outside corner on occasion last year, that percentage should rise in 2025.

“I love that he’s confident enough to now recognize, ‘Hey, I’m good enough to not only play inside, but I can play outside,’ because he’ll tell you that they’re different worlds, but his ability to make plays when given the opportunity, that’s what’s different about Smith,” Shah said.

“... Are you able to make the plays in both the inside and outside? And he has. So his playmaking ability, his confidence, his physicality and just knowledge base continues to increase.”

In addition to his cornerback role, Snowden will continue to handle kickoff duties, where he totaled seven returns for 187 yards, and Whittingham said you just may see Snowden take some offensive snaps at receiver as well.

“See Smith Snowden playing some wide receiver, slot receiver, getting the ball in his hands. You can see how dangerous he is with his kickoff returns,” Whittingham said.

There’s a lot of responsibility on Snowden’s plate this season, but he’s excited for it all.

“That means a lot (from) my coaches to hear that they have the trust in me to play all these downs,” Snowden said this spring.