Utah safety prospect with the ball skills of Oregon's best, visits June 5

Bode Sparrow took his first visit to Oregon in November to watch them against USC, and in that game Dillon Theieman sealed a 42-27 win with an interception on the last drive of the game. Nickle back Jadon Canady picked off another.

In June Chris Hampton, Dan Lanning and the Ducks take an official visit from Sparrow, the No. 1 player in Utah, a ball-hawking safety who caught 83 passes for 1,218 yards with 16 touchdowns last season as a receiver, 71 tackles and seven interceptions on defense, two returned for touchdowns

He's 6-2, 190, with a frame, athleticism and traits to become an outstanding college safety. Though his numbers at receiver are eye-popping, a back with those ball skills and knowledge of route concepts can become an impact player for a defense.

Thieneman wound up a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears.

The best safeties have a flair for the dramatic, playmakers, field generals and students of the game. They're game-on-the-line kind of guys with a kind of internal play-by-play. "Thirty seconds left, second and ten. Ducks up by four."

At Oregon there's a long tradition of safeties with this game-changing profile, one that includes George Shaw (all-time PAC-12 single-season leader in interceptions with 12,) Anthony Newman, Chad Cota, Keith Lewis, Patrick Chung, TJ Ward, John Boyett, Erick Dargan, Verone McKinley Jr. and Dillon Thieneman. Several of these had long careers in the NFL, Ward and Chung with Super Bowl rings.

These guys were stoppers. They made game-saving tackles and momentum-swinging interceptions. They possessed an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time and making the big play, setting a tone for the defense.

Cota was the beating heart of Gang Green. Thieneman ended two games last season with interceptions, cutting off the last desperation drive for Penn State and USC. In 2012 Boyett set a Rose Bowl record with 17 tackles in a win over Wisconsin, a team that featured Russell Wilson and Montee Ball.

Sparrow has those kind of ball skills. He ranks as the No. 69 prospect and No. 4 athlete in the 247Sports Composite.

He's making his his official visit to Oregon on June 5, part of a final four that includes Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and BYU. Most of the prediction machines have him going to the Sooners, but a dynamic defender with length and a nose for a football, he's a target to watch in the June visit rush.

Sparrow told Max Torres of On3 Sports, "Coach Lanning has that program rolling. They're gonna probably be the best team in the country this year." Though high-profile prospects learn to say something nice about every school, at least he's aware of what the Ducks have to offer as a program.

As a 16-year-old sophomore in 2024 Sparrow led the Beehive State with nine interceptions, also Utah's most prolific pass catcher with 944 yards and 16 touchdowns. “The main focus this year (was) being a beast on the other side of the ball,” he said.

That beast mentality and football acumen make him a prospect that would sting to miss on.



“I’ve been playing (football) since I’ve been a little kid — all my friends and family, that’s just kind of what we do,” Sparrow said. “All my little brothers play and stuff so they keep me wanting to play and I think I will keep them wanting to play.”

Many of Oregon's great safeties came from football families. Thieneman's brothers both played at Purdue. Boyett's dad was a high school coach and his uncle coached at Foothill College. J.D. Nelson, a standout safety in the Bellotti years, was the son of Darrin Nelson, the ex-Stanford star.

They're game-in-the-blood kind of guys, with a Jack Reacher quality to focus on the violence required in the moment. Of all the safeties Autzen Zoo has profiled in the 2027 class, it's only fitting that Sparrow becomes a Duck.

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