There have been a lot of changes in USU college athletics, and now, the season that seemed never to start is about to start. Every player has a plan and potential until they meet the other team. Utah State has lost all their quarterbacks, Cooper Legas, McCae Hillstead, and Levi Williams, and is going with all-new ones at the start of this new season. Their new blood isn’t just in the quarterback seat, as their defensive line also has great potential. The defensive line has two starters and four-letter winners, bringing 13 newcomers. They also bring with them seven four-year transfers, four junior college transfers, and two high school players.
What Is New For USU?
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Fortunately for Utah State, four of its six upcoming quarterbacks have some Division I experience, and the two remaining have played at junior colleges. Also, USU is welcoming 13 newcomers to its defensive line. Let’s go through their new blood.
New Defensive Line
Of the defensive line of the 13 newcomers, seven of them are transfers and four-year transfers. They are Collin Vaughn (Charlotte Courthouse, Va./Stafford Senior HS/Limestone), senior Miguel Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine-Richland HS/Charlotte), senior Taz Williams (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary’s HS/Kent State), junior Lawrence Falatea (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS/Washington State), junior Gabriel Iniguez Jr. (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS/New Mexico State), junior Gabe Peterson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest HS/New Mexico State) and redshirt freshman Siolaa Lolohea (Euless, Texas/Trinity HS/Oklahoma State).
New Quarterbacks
Now for the Quarterbacks, we will take graduate senior Spencer Petras (San Rafael, Calif./Marin Catholic HS/Iowa), who comes to Utah after spending six seasons in Iowa. He played 37 career games and starred in 31 of them. His record with them is 20-11 as their quarterback. His states include 468-of-825 (.567) passes for 5,199 yards with 24 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while rushing for 11 scores. He has also impressively had ten career 200-yard passing games with multiple thrown touchdown passes in six games.
The next quarterback that has stood out at spring practice is Aggie junior Bryson Barnes (Milford, Utah/Milford HS/Utah). He started in 11 of 24 career games during his four years at Utah. His record is 181-of-301 (.601), passing for 2,025 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while also rushing for 391 yards on 111 carries (3.5 ypc) and three touchdowns. He started in 10 of 11 games last year and was 142-of-242 (.587) passing for 1,572 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 265 yards on 90 carries (2.9 ypc) and three scores.
The remaining quarterbacks for USU comprise graduate junior Jacob Conover (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS/Arizona State), redshirt freshman CJ Tiller (Gilbert, Ariz./Rancho Cucamonga HS/Boise State), junior Braden Siri (American Fork, Utah/Lone Peak HS/Golden West College) and sophomore Levi Manning (Bakersfield, Calif./Centennial HS/Bakersfield College). They each have impressive points, such as Conover and Tiller having previous Division I experience, and Tiller had his first-year career start in the LA Bowl.
Young Blood Defense
Also, for the Defensive line, USU has four junior college players joining them Braydon Bailey (Kona, Hawaii/Kahuku HS/Golden West College), junior Marlin Dean (Elberton, Ga./IMG Academy/Butler CC), junior Carl Nesmith (Jacksonville, Fla./Baldwin HS/Fullerton College) and sophomore Isaiah Bruce (Lena, Ill./Lena-Winslow HS/Iowa Central CC). Two freshmen, William Holmes (Detroit, Mich./Western International HS) and Manase Tupou (Logan, Utah/Logan HS), were also there.
Last year, Utah State finished second defensively in the Mountain West and 33rd in the nation. They were also fifth in the Mountain West in forced turnovers, playing 38th in the nation. For fumbles, they were third in the Mountain West and 16th in the nation, recovering 10. For passing interceptions, USU ranked seventh in the MW and 65th in the nation.
Offensively, USU scored 431 total points last season, averaging 33 per game. They totaled 284 first downs, rushed for 2397 yards, and passed for 3305 yards. With all these new players, both offensive and defensive, it looks to be a bright year for USU as they shake up new plays as Aggies.
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