Fall Previews 6 of 63: Utah State:

Utah State:

Head Coach: Matt Wells (19-9)
2014 Record: (10-4, 6-2 MWC)

Offense:

When he is fully healthy, Chuckie Keeton (6,387 career passing yards/58 TD) is one of the most dynamic players in college football. The dual threat quarterback has over 1,200 yards rushing in addition to his passing totals but his last two seasons have been injury plagued and many begin to wonder if he will still be able to play at that same ability heading into the 2015 season. Big things are expected of Keeton with the senior named to the Davey O'Brien, Weurffel, and Maxwell Award watch lists. If he is healthy, the Aggies can compete for a MWC title. If he gets injured, the Aggies have sophmore Oregon transfer Damion Hobbs to lean upon with redshirt freshman DJ Nelson and incoming freshman Cade Smith also looking to battle for the backup spot.

Chuckie Keeton

The Utah State rushing attack is one of the oddest in the nation when you look at raw numbers. The Aggies finished the season 51st nationally in rushing offense but the team's leading rusher only carried for 540 yards. The rushing attack tends to rely upon giving multiple players a chance to carry the ball with six different players carrying the ball at least 40 times. Projected starter LaJuan Hunt (111/540/1TD) is being tabbed for a breakout season in 2015 with the sophomore being named to the Doak Walker Award watch list. Senior Rashad Hall (49/203/2TD), junior Kennedy Williams (8/81/0TD), and JUCO transfer Devante Mays. The 5-11, 225 pound Mays has the ability to immediately see the field and be a great combination with Hunt for an improved Aggie rushing attack.

Tight end is an interesting position for Utah State lately as emphasis has been added on the postion under head coach Matt Wells. Junior Wyatt Houston (19/178/2TD) made seven starts at the position in 2014 and with a 6-5, 255 pound frame, show the ability to give the Utah State passing game a new dynamic while being a force blocking for the running game. Wells has also brought in 6-6, 250 pound JUCO transfer Chris Copier as well as incoming freshmen Sione Talakai and Dalton Baker while getting to finally see what 6-4, 220 pound reshirt freshman Marcus Mosely can do this fall. It is clear that the Utah State offense wants to run a spread formation that emphasizes the tight end versus linebacker or safety mismatch that offensive coordinator Josh Heupel ran at Oklahoma. Expect Houston to make 25+ catches this fall with one of the younger guys stepping up as well.

At wide receiver, the Aggies have yet another preseason award watch list member in senior Hunter Sharp (66/939/7TD) being named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list. Sharp is a 2014 All-MWC honorable mention honoree and showed signs of becoming a truely excellent receiver last fall. While Sharp returning for his senior season is a huge boost, the loss of JoJo Watson (51/504/2TD and 50/498/3TD rushing) to violations of team rules will be very tough to overcome. Senior Devonte Robinson (24/226/2TD) and sophomore Kent Myers, a quarterback in 2014, will need to immediately to give the Aggies a semblance of a solid passing game. Redshirt freshman Zach Van Leeuwen had an excellent spring and was the leading receiver in the spring game. Senior Brandon Swindell (5/37/0TD) and sophomore Braelon Roberts also saw playing time in 2014.

The Aggies have an excellent starting group coming back on the offensive line with four of the five projected starters making 10+ starts in 2014. Austin Stephens (14 career starts) was named to the Rimington Award watch list as one of the best centers in the nation after a 2014 season that saw him named to the All-MWC honorable mention list. Redshirt sophomore Jarom Iaone looks to back up Stephens and possibly see some playing time this fall. At left tackle, junior Austin Albrecht should get the starting call after making 2 starts and playing in all 13 games in 2014. His size at 6-5, 295 pounds is ideal with backups K.J. Uluave and Logan Rice still needing more time to mature as redshirt freshmen. Inside at left guard, sophomore Tyshon Mosley (11 career starts) should regain his starting spot after a very impressive 2014 season for the Aggies. Brandon Taukeiaho should have the first shot at a backup role after seeing game action three times last fall on the offensive line. He will be battling with JUCO transfer Jude Hockel for playing time as fall camp kicks into gear. At right guard is senior Taani Fisilau (12 career starts), who is another senior starter for Utah State on the offensive side of the ball. His ability to keep the middle of the line clean will allow the Aggies to have more of a passing game this fall. Rounding out the group is 2014 honorable mention All-MWC member Jake Simonich. The junior made all 13 starts in 2014 and has made 15 total starts on the offensive line. JUCO transfer Preston Brooksby and redshirt freshman Cody Boyer will battle

Defense: 

On the defensive line, the Aggies return defensive end Jordan Nielsen (53 tkl, 7 tfl, 2.5 sacks) and nose guard Travis Seefeldt (35 tkl, 6 tfl, 2 sacks) from a defense that was much better in 2014 than many predicted. The two seniors will be the starters on the defensive line with experience with juniors Ricky Ali'ifua (22 tkl, 2 tfl) and Siua Taufa (14 tkl, 2.5 tfl, 1 sack) also flirting with starting positions. The attacking style of Utah State's defense needs a few road graters in the trenches and seniors John Taylor (9 tkl, 0.5 tfl, 0.5 sacks) and David Moala (8 tkl, 1.5 tfl, 0.5 sacks) fit that bill perfectly. Neither will wow anyone on stats alone but can hold up blockers and allow the talented linebacker corps to make plays.

Nick Vigil

While losing 2014 MWC defensive player of the year Zach Vigil to graduation and the NFL, the Aggies have two stud linebackers and a very talented group of players on the second level. Junior Nick Vigil (123 tkl, 16.5 tfl, 7 sacks, 1 INT) had a monster season as a sophomore and earned a spot on the Bednarik Award watch list. He has made 16 career starts and has amassed 180 tackles, 25 tfl, and 12.5 sacks in his two years at Utah State. Lining up alongside Vigil is senior Kyle Fackrell. The senior linebacker is coming off of a 2014 season that saw him fall to a season ending injury in the opener. Fackrell, at 6-5, 250 pounds, is expected to be back to full strength this fall and was named to the Lombardi, Butkus, Bednarik, and Bronco Nagurski Award watch lists. If he can stayt healthy, he could battle Vigil for MWC defensive player of the year honors. Fellow seniors LT Filiaga (61 tkl, 4.5 tfl, 1 sack) and Torrey Green (35 tkl, 8 tfl, 3 sacks) will fill out a linebacker corps that could not only be the best Group of Five but one of the best in the nation as well. Michael Okonkwo (14 tkl), Jarom Baldomero (13 tkl, 1.5 tfl), and Anthony Williams (10 tkl) will be very capable backups for the first team linebackers.

Devin Centers

Junior free safety Devin Centers (74 tkl, 6.5 tfl, 3 sacks, 1 INT) leads a Aggie secondary that returns the majority of a defensive backfield that scored four touchdowns in 2014. Centers will roam the middle of the field with BYU transfer Dallin Leavitt looking to find some playing time as a backup. The Aggies have a trio of solid cornerbacks in sophomore Jalen Davis (61 tkl, 4 tfl, 1 sack, 2 INT), senior Bryant Hayes (20 tkl, 6 tfl, 4 sacks), and junior Daniel Gray (29 tkl). Gray and Davis should be the starting cornerbacks with Hayes getting lots of playing time as a nickel back or possibly as the strong safety. Deshane Hines (20 tkl, 2 INT), Marwin Evans (10 tkl), Tyler Floyd (10 tkl, 1 tfl, 1 INT), Kelvin Lee (6 tkl) and Jentz Painter (5 tkl, 1 tfl, 1 sack) should all see playing time in the secondary as well.

Special Teams: 

On special teams, only junior Jake Thompson comes back in 2015 with any real experience. Thompson is competing with redshirt freshman Aaron Dalton for the punting starting spot. Dalton should be the favorite to win the job as Thompson is more of a kicker than a punter as evidenced by his 39.4% touchback rate on kickoffs in 2014. Thompson is in a battle with junior Brock Warren for the field goal kicking spot and it may be better in the long run for Warren to win the role and have a punter, field goal kicker, and kickoff specialist all handle a single duty for the 2015 season.

Overall: 

As hard as it is to say that an entire season is dependent on the health of a single player, it is with Utah State. If Chuckie Keeton is not only healthy but at the top of his game, the Aggies are a very scary team that could make a run at the Mountain West Conference title and a big time bowl. If he is either injured or not the same player he was before, then the Aggies could easily slide to mid-pack of the MWC.

Utah State will learn very quickly if they are for real with one of the toughest starts to a season of any Group of Five team. After an easy win over Southern Utah to start the season, the Aggies have to faced hated rival Utah and then Pac-12 program Washington in back-to-back weeks. After a bye week, the Aggies host Colorado State, travel to Fresno State, host Boise state, and travel to San Diego State. 5-2 is a best case scenario for Utah State after those seven games but it is completely possible. The key is beating either Utah or Washington in September to start the season 2-1. There is virtually no way the Aggies can go through the stretch of Colorado State, Fresno State, Boise State, and San Diego State undefeated. I would say the most likely scenario is Utah State sitting at 4-3 after seven games.

Utah State matches up very well versus Wyoming, New Mexico, Air Force, and Nevada which would get the Aggies to 8-3 heading into a season finale versus BYU. This is another huge swing game that could honestly go either way but I feel like Utah State has the pieces in place to beat BYU in back to back years for the first time since 1974. My prediction is a 9-3 regular season with another trip to the New Mexico Bowl.