‘He’s been a huge surprise’: Jackson Bennee continues Utes’ NCAA-record pick-six streak

One of the nation’s most interesting streaks lives on for another year.

Jackson Bennee’s 46-yard interception return for a touchdown Saturday against Cal Poly marked the 22nd consecutive season that the Utah Utes have at least one pick-six, an NCAA-record streak that dates back to the 2004 season.

In that 22-year time period, the Utes also lead college football in total interceptions returned for touchdowns with 49.

“It’s the all-time record, so credit to coach (Morgan) Scalley and coach (John) Pease before that and coach (Kalani) Sitake before that. I mean there’s been a lot of guys that have had a hand in that and it was great to see it today,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

“... It’s something to be proud of. We don’t talk about it ever or think about it. It’s just something that happens.”

Unlike last season, when a pick-six didn’t occur until the second-to-last game of the season (Lander Barton had an 87-yard interception return against Iowa State), the Utes got it out of the way early.

Bennee jumped the Cal Poly route and had nothing but green turf in front of him as he returned it 46 yards for his first career touchdown.

“It was super fun, I’m not going to lie. Just kind of in the right spot at the right time when he threw it. I was kind of in disbelief, but right as I caught it, I just didn’t look back,” Bennee said.

“Just decided to run as fast as I could. I’m just glad for the opportunities I’m getting out here. It’s really fun to play with the boys.”

Not only did Bennee deliver one of the signature plays of Utah’s 63-9 defeat of Cal Poly, but he was one of Utah’s best defensive players on Saturday.

Bennee totaled five tackles and broke up a team-high three passes. He was a blanket in coverage all night and read Cal Poly’s offense masterfully,

This season, the Utes moved Bennee from safety to nickel to better utilize his skillset, and the position was a great match for the sophomore from Olympus High.

“ I’ve kind of bounced around from nickel to safety, but in the spring I played a lot of nickel and that’s when I got a little bit more comfortable there and definitely a lot of things to work on for sure, but I’d say that’s when things started to click for me,” Bennee said.

In addition to playing nickel — one of the toughest positions on Utah’s defense — the Utes also utilize Bennee’s athleticism on the offensive side of the ball.

While he didn’t register on the offensive side of the stat sheet on Saturday, he had a 17-yard reception against UCLA.

Bennee’s proficiency at the nickelback spot also provides a spell for Smith Snowden — especially when Snowden is getting significant offensive snaps.

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Whittingham was very praiseworthy of Bennee following Saturday’s game.

“He’s playing the nickel spot, which is the most difficult spot on the defense. It’s the most demanding, it’s the most to it as far as the learning curve. You got to cover and you got to cover in the slot where you don’t have the sideline to help you out and protect you,” Whittingham said.

“So it’s a tougher coverage responsibility. You got to play in the run fits, you got to blitz off the edge on occasion, so that’s the position that is really the most demanding, and what he’s doing so far has been outstanding, especially when you consider that he’s splitting time and playing wide receiver about 30 or 40% of the time. So he’s been a huge surprise. He’s probably the biggest surprise in a good way on the football team this fall so far.”