Blechen to get a shot at playing linebacker ..

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Working on a season in review story on the Utes' football team. Spoke with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham yesterday for the story and thought I'd share one note of particular interest. Whittingham said plans are to move freshman Brian Blechen, who was one of the stars on the defense this year at safety, to linebacker. "He is a big kid who is going to be about 230 pounds and he has a linebacker mentality," Whittingham said. "He'd be very quick for a linebacker with excellent speed." The 6-foot-2, 208-pounder out of Moorpark, Calif., played the position in high school and was the No. 76-ranked linebacker in the nation by Scout.com. He was ranked No. 34 in the nation by ESPN at the quarterback spot. This year, Blechen earned honorable mention all-MWC as a safety after finishing the regular season second in the MWC in interceptions with four and tying for third on the team with 61 tackles.

Blechen to get a shot at playing linebacker next year