Utah State Aggies 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: Remember just a few short seasons ago, when Matt Wells was a red hot rising star in the coaching ranks, and was even mentioned as a possible candidate at USC? Those days appear to be over, and Wells' stock is plummeting to the garbage shoot after some pretty rough times in Logan. The program is trending in the wrong direction, and whatever magic spell Wells had up his sleeve appears to have run its course. The Aggies finished 6-7 last season, and snuck into a bowl depsite losing to Air Force in the finale last season, but they dropped that game to New Mexico State, a team that had not been to a bowl in my lifetime. If the Aggies slip backwards at all this fall, the grumbling may start in earnest. Wells is currently 15-23 in his last 3 years on the job.
Breakdown Offense: Jordan Love returns at QB, but he is no lock for success after passing for just 8 TDs and 6 INTs and completing just 54.9% of his passes. He averaged just 135.9 yards passing per game in 12 appearances, and he did not blow any doors off with his rushing ability. That said, the team did respond with him under center, and won 3/4 games when he started, but he has to elevate his game as a sophomore if the Aggies are to get back to a bowl. The backup job is wide open, as just 4 QBs made it to spring ball.
Gerold Bright takes over at RB for the Aggies, but he may share carries with Eltoro Allen. The 2 backs combined for just 97 carries total last season. Bright averaged 8.59 yards per carry in limited action, and the staff is hoping that his big burst ability carries over with more work. Tre Miller will be looking for reps as well as a sophomore.
Jordan Nathan and Ron'Quavion Tarver return to start at WR. Tarver caught 48 passes for 569 yards and 7 TDs to lead the team last fall. Nathan caught 25 passes for 324 yards. Savon Scarver is the 3rd receiver, and caught 11 passes as a freshman. Aaren Vaughns, Chad Artist, and DJ Nelson add depth to the unit.
Dax Raymond is back at TE to start. He finished 2nd on the team with 41 receptions last season for 456 yards, but he scored just once. Carson Terrell is the backup.
One key for the Aggies is that every starter returns on the line in Roman Andrus (LT), Moroni Iniguez (LG), Quin Ficklin (C), Rob Castaneda (RG), and Sean Taylor (RT). Ty Shaw and Demytrick Ali'ifua will provide some depth.
Breakdown Defense: The D line returns 2 of 3 starters in NT Chris Unga and DE Logan Lee. They combined for just 5.5 TFLs last fall, and as a result, the Aggies ranked 115th nationally against the run. Devon Anderson will likely step in at the open DE spot in fall camp. Mohelike Uasike and Gasetoto Schuster will provide some depth along with Adewale Adeoye. Ritisoni Fata and Jacoby Wildman add more rotational depth as well to what should be one of the deepest lines on the Mountain West.
Sull Tamaivena and Chase Christiansen will return at LB for the Aggies. Tamaivena led the Aggies in tackles with 111, and also led the team with 6.5 TFLs. Christiansen added 71 tackles, with 4 TFLs. They will be flanked by new starters in Dalton Baker and Justus Te'i. They combined for just 1.5 TFLs last season. Derek Larson and David Woodward provide depth at the OLB spots, while Mason Tobeck and Kevin Meitzenheimer are the backups inside. Louy Compton, Ofa Latu, and Maika Magalai add even more depth. Look for Tipa Galeai to work his way into the rotation as well after transferring from TCU after he was kicked out of school for his role in a dorm fight.
The secondary returns 3 starters in CB Ja'Marcus Ingram, CB Cameron Haney, and S Gaje Ferguson. Ingram and Haney combined for 11 PBUs last fall, and Ferguson finished 2nd on the team with 90 tackles. Baron Gajkowski is penciled in to start at FS, and he finished with 50 tackles last fall as a freshman. Deante Fortenberry is the 3rd CB, while Aaron Wade steps in as the 3rd Safety for now.
Breakdown Special Teams: Dominik Eberle is back at PK after hitting a solid 18/24 FG attempts last fall. The staff would like to see a bit more consistency as a junior.
Aaron Dalton is back at Punter as a senior after averaging 42.01 yards per punt.
Scarver is one of the more dynamic KR men in the Mountain West, averaging 24.04 yards per return with one taken back for a score last fall. Jordan Nathan does a solid job at PR as well, averaging 8.52 yards per return.
Final Analysis: If there is a team built for a rise that nobody is watching in the Mountain West, it could be Utah State, but the QB situation has to be ironed out with Love as a passer, as he needs to show that he has the ability to lock down the job full time moving forward. The run game has got to develop with less than ideal depth as well. Defensively, the Aggies may have more depth across the board than any Group of 5 school coming back into the 2018 season, and we should see solid improvement across the board. If this all falls apart, and injuries deplete depth on offense, and the Aggies fail to go bowling again, we could maybe be hearing about some change coming, but that should not happen with this roster.
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