Fall Preview: Utah State

Fall Preview for the Utah State Aggies:

QB

#16 Chuckie Keeton 6-2 185 Quarterback SO Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek--11 games played, 9 starts. 68 carries for 99 yards and 4 TD.  106-174 passing for 1200 yards and 11 TD.

#02 Adam Kennedy 6-5 222 Quarterback SR Elk Grove, Calif./Franklin/San Joaquin Delta College--8 games played, 5 starts. 55 carries for 239 yards. 76-110 passing for 972 and 11 TD.

#12 Daniel Wray 6-4 196 Quarterback FR Salt Lake City, Utah/West--Incoming freshman.

#17 Jeff Manning 6-4 199 Quarterback FR Logan, Utah/Logan HS--Incoming freshman.

#?? Michael Chislock 6-4 195 Quarterback FR Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS--Incoming

freshman.

#?? DJ Nelson 5-9 180 Quarterback FR Logan, Utah/Logan--Incoming freshman.

Sophomore Chuckie Keeton returns for his sophomore season after starting 9 games in 2011. and passing for 1200 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Adam Kennedy looks to be the backup and threw for nearly 1000 yards himself. The Aggies have 4 incoming freshmen that will battle to be the 3rd team quarterback while the rest are redshirted.

RB

#25 Kerwynn Williams 5-9 193 Running Back/Kick Returner SR Las Vegas, Nev./Valley--13 games played. 81 carries for 542 yards and 3 TD. 7 catches for 63 yards. 7 punt returns for 14 yard average. 2 tackles. 36 punt returns for 22.7 yard average.

#27 Robert Marshall 6-1 231 Running Back JR Dallas, Texas/A. Maceo Smith--13 games played, 2 starts. 13 carries for 61 yards and 1 TD.

#32 Joe Hill 5-11 180 Running Back SO RS Fullerton, Calif./Fullerton--7 games played. 7 carries for 24 yards and 1 TD.  2 catches for 26 yards. 5 tackles.

#87 Travis Swann 6-1 231 Running Back SO Spring, Texas/Spring/Austin CC--7 games played. 1 tackle.

#31 Paul Clark 5-8 189 Running Back SO RS Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial--No stats in 2011.

#30 Abou Toure 6-2 230 Running Back JR Framingham, Mass./Framingham/Dean JC--No stats in 2011.

#28 Joey DeMartino 5-11 201 Running Back JR San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel/Grossmont College--No stats in 2011.

Senior Kerwynn Williams returns after rushing for 542 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2011 while also contributing with 36 punt returns. Robert Marshall and Joe Hill look to be the backups and contributed 85 yards on the ground for the Aggies. Swann, Clark, Toure and DeMartino all look to contribute on special teams in 2012.

WR

#04 Matt Austin 6-2 198 Wide Receiver SR Monrovia, Calif./Charter Oak/Mt. San Antonio JC--13 games played, 8 starts. 34 catches for 465 yards and 6 TD.  1 tackle.

#10 Chuck Jacobs 6-0 170 Wide Receiver SR Richmond, Calif./Kennedy/Laney JC--13 games played, 5 starts. 7 carries for 49 yards. 20 catches for 218 yards and 2 TD. 18 kickoff returns for 24.5 yard average.

#07 Travis Van Leeuwen 6-3 192 Wide Receiver JR Provo, Utah/Timpview--13 games played, 5 starts. 1 carry for 9 yards. 15 catches for 214 yards and 2 TD.

#08 Travis Reynolds 6-0 179 Wide Receiver JR Lauderdale Lakes, Fla./Boyd Anderson--10 games played, 1 start. 3 catches for 23 yards.

#85 Brandon Swindall 6-4 197 Wide Receiver FR RS Oklahoma City, Okla./Millwood--Incoming freshman.

#06 Rashard Stewart 5-11 181 Wide Receiver SO RS Miami, Fla./Miami Jackson--No stats in 2011.

#18 Shaan Johnson 6-1 184 Wide Receiver SO RS Cerritos Calif./Gahr--No stats in 2011.

#84 Cameron Webb 5-10 186 Wide Receiver SR Millville, Utah/Mountain Crest/Snow JC--7 games played.

#82 Jordan Jenkins 5-11 200 Wide Receiver JR St. Louis, Mo./Vashon/Coffeyville CC--No stats in 2011.

#09 Dwayne Lorick 6-5 230 Wide Receiver JR Washington, D.C./Anacostia/West Hills College Coalinga JC--No stats in 2011.

#11 Alex Wheat 6-5 210 Wide Receiver SO Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta/Palomar JC--No stats in 2011.

#80 Lars Gunderson 5-10 177 Wide Receiver JR Sandy, Utah/Juan Diego/Pheonix CC--No stats in 2011.

#83 Bruce Natson 5-7 145 Wide Receiver FR Oakland Park, Fla./Boyd Anderson--Incoming freshman.

Seniors Matt Austin and Chuck Jacobs and junior Travis Van Leeuwen look to be the leading receivers after combining for 69 catches and nearly 1000 yards. They must increase those totals as they are the

only returning receivers with double digit catches. The rest of the wide receivers will battle to get into the rotation with the competition looking to be quite fierce in 2012.

TE
#91 D.J. Tialavea 6-4 265 Tight End JR West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan--13 games played, 6 starts. 7 catches for 74 yards and 1 TD.

#81 Kellen Bartlett 6-2 243 Tight End SR Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs South--No stats in 2011.

#22 Keegan Andersen 6-2 220 Tight End SO RS Logan, Utah/Juan Diego--9 games played. 1 catch for 6 yards.

#86 Brad Theurer 6-3 244 Tight End JR Logan, Utah/Logan--13 games played.

Junior DJ Tialavea looks to be the starting tight end in 2012 after starting 6 games and making 7 catches last season. Senior Kellen Bartlett and sophomore Keegan Andersen and junior Brad Theurer all look to battle for the backup job with Bartlett having the early lead after spring practive.

OL

#73 Kevin Whimpey 6-5 287 LT SO RS Highland, Utah/Lone Peak/Idaho State--No stats in 2011.

#54 Jamie Markosian 6-2 298 LG JR Salt Lake City, Utah/Juan Diego--13 games played, 2 starts.

#58 Tyler Larsen 6-4 308 C JR Salt Lake City, Utah/Jordan--13 games played, 13 starts.

#66 Eric Schultz 6-4 304 RG JR Connell, Wash./Connell--13 games played, 13 starts.

#67 Oscar Molina-Sanchez 6-5 297 RT SR Baldwin Park, Calif./Baldwin Park--13 games played, 13 starts.

#79 Logan Malohifo'ou 6-6 254 LT FR West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills--Incoming freshman.

#74 Kyle Whimpey 6-6 304 LG JR Highland, Utah/Lone Peak/Idaho State--No stats in 2011.

#62 Bryce Walker 6-8 307 RG SO RS Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove--No stats in 2011.

#78 Jorden Mattinson 6-5 286 RT FR RS Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork--Redshirted in 2011.

#60 Joe Summers 6-3 300 Offensive Line SO Tremonton, Utah/Bear River/Snow College--No stats in 2011.

#64 Josh Larmay 6-6 297 Offensive Line SO RS De Pere, Wisc./West De Pere/Minnesota St. Moorehead--No stats in 2011.

#68 Bill Vavau 6-4 330 Offensive Line JR Salt Lake City, Utah/Jordan HS/Snow College--No stats in 2011.

#75 Taani Fisilau 6-3 303 Offensive Line FR Glendale, Utah/Cottonwood--Incoming freshman.

#76 Jake Simonich 6-5 255 Offensive Line FR Danville, Calif./San Roman Valley--Incoming freshman.

#61 Patrick Ward 6-4 270 Offensive Tackle JR Phoenix, Ariz./South Mountain/Glendale CC--JUCO transfer.

#69 Andrew Chen 6-3 245 Offensive Tackle FR Calabasas, Calif./Chaminade College Prep--Incoming freshman.

The right side of the offensive line looks to be very good in 2012 with the center, right guard, and right tackle all making all 13 starts in 2011. Larsen and Schultz made all those starts as true sophomores. Junior Jamie Markosian and sophomore Kevin Whimpey are the projected starters on the left side with Markosian making 2 starts but playing in every game and Whimpey not getting any game action. No one else on the offensive line roster has any experience from 2011 making the battles for the backup spots quite open this fall.

DL

#40 Connor Williams 6-3 266 Defensive End JR Kanata, Ontario, Canada/Holy Trinity--13 games played, 1 start. 28 tackles, 3 for loss. 2 sacks.

#90 Al Lapuaho 6-3 289 Defensive End SR West Valley City, Utah/Granger/Snow JC--13 games played, 13 starts. 31 tackles, 2.5 for loss. 1 sack, 1 forced fumble.

#70 Travis Seefeldt 6-2 296 NG FR Sun City, Ariz./Liberty--Incoming freshman.

#72 Jordan Nielsen 6-6 250 Defensive End FR RS Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS--Redshirted in 2011.

#94 Eric Berntson 6-6 230 Defensive End FR Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS--Incoming freshman.

#57 Havea Lasike 6-1 295 NG SR San Jose, Calif./Lincoln/Foothill JC--13 games played. 17 tackles, 1.5 for loss. 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble.

#95 Tevita Vaifoou 6-1 266 Defensive Line SO Hauula, Hawaii/Kahuku--13 games played. 9 tackles, 0.5 for loss. 1 pbu, 1 fumble recovery.

#99 B.J. Larsen 6-5 263 Defensive Line SO Logan, Utah/Logan--12 games played. 7 tackles. 1 pbu.

#48 Paul Piukala 6-4 245 Defensive Line JR Oakland, Calif./Castlemont/Laney CC--No stats in 2011.

#56 AJ Pataialii 6-2 290 Defensive Line JR West Valley City, Utah/Hunter/Snow College--No stats in 2011.

#92 Derek Keller 6-3 228 Defensive Line FR Draper, Utah/Alta--Incoming freshman.

#96 Elvis Kamana-Matagi 6-2 285 Defensive Line SO RS Maui, Hawaii/King Kekaulike--No stats in 2011.

Only using 3 defensive linemen in the 3-4 defense preferred by the Aggie coaching staff, Utah State only has one returning starter. Al Lapuaho made all 13 starts and contributed 31 tackles with junior Connor Williams starting 1 game and made 28 tackles. Nielsen, Berntson, Lasike, Vaifoou, and Larsen all look to work themselves into the rotation.

LB

#12 Terell Thompson 6-2 218 OLB SR Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS/Glendale CC--2 games played. 4 tackles.

#55 Bojay Filimoeatu 6-2 250 OLB SR West Valley City, Utah/Granger/Mt. San Antonio College--13 games played, 13 starts. 41 tackles, 11 for loss. 3 sacks, 1 pbu, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble.

#51 Jake Doughty 6-0 225 ILB JR Sandy, Utah/Juan Diego--13 games played. 26 tackles, 3 for loss.

#16 Tavaris McMillian 6-2 231 ILB SO Miami, Florida/Miami Jackson--13 games played, 7 starts. 45 tackles, 7.5 for loss.

#33 Jefferson Court 6-2 220 OLB FR RS Alta, Utah/Alta/BYU--Redshirted in 2011.

#52 Kyler Fackrell 6-5 205 OLB FR Mesa, Ariz./Mesa--Incoming freshman.

#53 Zach Vigil 6-2 226 ILB JR Clearfield, Utah/Clearfield--4 games played. 1 kickoff return for 0 yards. 4 tackles, 1 for loss.

#31 Parker Hausknecht 6-1 217 ILB SO Draper, Utah/Alta--4 games played. 2 tackles.

#25 Gavin Jones 6-2 202 Linebacker SR Orem, Utah/Orem/Snow JC--No stats in 2011.

#32 Jason Luke 5-11 219 Linebacker JR Twentynine Palms, Calif./Twentynine Palms/College of Desert JC--No stats in 2011.

#43 Alex Marsaw 6-1 200 Linebacker FR Torrance, Calif./West HS--Incoming freshman.

#47 Travis Parrish 6-3 218 Linebacker FR Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS--Incoming freshman.

#49 Forrest Dabb 5-11 217 Linebacker SR South Jordan, Utah/Bingham/Utah--13 games played. 5 tackles.

#50 Delroy Hamilton 6-1 210 Linebacker FR Hallandale Beach, Fla./Hallandale--Incoming freshman.

#59 Nick Ciancone 6-2 213 Linebacker SO RS Layton, Utah/Layton--No stats in 2011.

Senior Bojay Filimoeatu is the leading returning linebacker for the Aggies with 13 starts and 41 tackles in 2011 from his outside linebacker spot. Sophomore Tavaris McMillian (45 tackles), senior Terell Thompson (4 tackles), and junior Jake Doughty (26 tackles) look to be the other returning starters for the Utah State linebacker corps. Court, Fackrell, Vigil, and Hausknecht all look to be in the rotation for the Aggies and make some plays in 2012.

DB

#01 Nevin Lawson 5-10 184 Cornerback JR Lauderhill, Fla./Piper--13 games played,12 starts. 73 tackles. 1 interception, 10 pbu, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery.

#15 Jumanne Robertson 5-11 181 Cornerback SR Phoenix, Ariz./Deer Valley/Phoenix CC--13 games played, 10 starts. 48 tackles. 12 pbu.

#21 Brian Suite 6-3 207 SS SO RS Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou--No stats in 2011.

#36 McKade Brady 5-11 183 FS SR Cove, Utah/Sky View/BYU--13 games played, 13 starts. 86 tackles, 1 for loss. 6 pbu, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble.

#17 Will Davis 5-11 169 NB JR Spokane, Wash./Central Valley/De Anza College--13 games played, 5 starts. 35 tackles, 3.5 for loss. 6 pbu.

#03 Quinton Byrd 5-11 179 Cornerback SR Miami, Fla./Miramar--13 games played. 12 tackles.

#24 Isaiah Jones 5-10 186 Cornerback SR Macon, Ga./Mount De Sales Academy--2 games played.

#46 Frankie Sutera 6-1 199 SS SO 1L Murray, Utah/Juan Diego--10 games played. 6 tackles.

#23 Michael Oknokwo 6-1 207 FS FR RS Chandler, Ariz./Chandler--Redshirted in 2011.

#05 Terrence Alston 5-10 175 NB SR Richmond, Calif./Vanden/Solano CC--13 games played. 12 tackles. 1 pbu.

#02 Cameron Sanders 5-10 177 Cornerback JR Oklahoma City, Okla./Millwood--4 games played. 4 tackles.

#13 Ladale Jackson 5-10 166 Cornerback FR Las Vegas, Nev./Silverado--Incoming freshman.

#14 Jamaine Olson 5-11 180 Cornerback SR Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit/Eastern Arizona JC--11 games played. 4 tackles.

#20 Devonta Glover-Wright 6-0 170 Cornerback JR Mableton, Ga./Campbell/Eastern Arizona CC--No stats in 2011.

#27 Dee Hamala 5-10 176 Cornerback SO RS Murray, Utah/Murray--No stats in 2011.

#30 Marquan Ellison 5-11 170 Cornerback FR Milwaukee, Wisc./Bradley Tech--Incoming freshman.

#39 Torrey Green 6-1 190 Safety FR HS Riverside, Calif./Rubidoux--Incoming freshman.

#42 La'Bradford Harold 5-10 197 Safety FR Crowley, Texas/Crowley--Incoming freshman.

#41 Nick Vigil 6-2 200 Safety/Linebacker FR Plain City, Utah/Fremont--Incoming freshman.

Senior Jumanne Robertson and junior Nevin Lawson look to be the projected starters at cornerback for Utah State and combined for 121 tackles and 22 pass break ups in 2011. Sophomore Brian Suite and senior McKade Brady are the starters at the safety spots with McKade making 86 tackles last season. Junior nickel back Will Davis added 35 tackles for the Aggie defense in 2011. Byrd, Jones, Sutera, Oknokwo, Alston, Sanders, Jackson and Olson all look to fight to be the backups and get into the rotation defensively this fall.

LS

#89 Nate Needham 6-3 231 Long Snapper SO St. George, Utah/Pine View--13 games played.

#97 Mark Hutchinson 5-9 190 Long Snapper FR Corona, Calif./Corona Santiago--Incoming freshman.

Sophomore Nate Needham played in all 13 games in 2012 as a long snapper and looks to snap in all 13 games for the Aggies. He is a vital yet almost invisible component of the Aggie special teams and will give the Aggies another solid season in 2012.

K

#19 Josh Thompson 5-9 185 Placekicker JR Logan, Utah/Logan--13 games played. 0-1 passing. 6-10 field goals with a long of 43 yards and 1 blocked kick. 2 kickoffs with 0 touchbacks.

#93 Nick Diaz 5-7 185 Placekicker SO RS Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union--No stats in 2011.

#42 Riley Harper 5-10 170 Placekicker FR Holladay, Utah/Cottonwood--Incoming freshman.

#44 Jacob Haueter 5-11 210 Placekicker SO Ontario, Ore./Ontario/Boise State--12 games played. 0-1 field goal attempts (only attempt was over 50 yards). 63 kickoffs with 7 touchbacks. 2 tackles.

Junior Josh Thompson looks to return as the kicker in 2012 after making 6-10 field goals with a long of 43 yards in 2011. He must improve those totals as his attempts should increase with the huge loss of two running backs from 2011 to the NFL. Sophomore Jacob Haueter is the kickoff specialist and had 7 touchbacks on 63 kickoff attempts in 2011 which should increase in 2012 with the new kickoff rules.

P

#88 Tyler Bennett 5-11 213 Punter JR Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon/Phoenix College--13 games played. 58 punts with a 43.8 yard average and 21 inside the opponent 20 yard line and a long of 67 yards.

#38 Jaron Bentrude 6-0 202 Placekicker SO RS Draper, Utah/Juan Diego--4 games played. 9 kickoffs with 2 touchbacks.

Junior Tyler Bennett returns for his junior season after making 58 punts in 2011 for an impressive 43.8 yard average and a long of 67 yards. Sophomore Jaron Bentrude made 9 kickoffs with 2 touchbacks in 2011 for the Aggies.

The Aggies struggled in the first half of 2011 with losses in 5 of their first 7 games including a devastating loss to Auburn to start the season that saw the Aggies squander a double digit lead with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game. Utah State didn't do themselves any favors in 2012 with a schedule that includes trips to Wisconsin, Colorado State, BYU, and Louisiana Tech. The marquee game for Utah State is the home game versus Utah in the second game of the season. 7-5 or possibly 8-4 would be the ideal situation for the Aggies in 2012.