Recapping the Utah State Aggies 2023 season in college football.
Scheme and Fit
Utah State football head coach Blake Anderson recruits speed and uses the JUCO route to fill their roster. They do have a pipeline with Texas, Georgia, and Florida, as well as in-state. The draw with going the JUCO route is immediate playing time. This allows high school recruits to get accustomed to the strength and conditioning program. They typically will see little playing time unless there is a depth issue, which has taken place along the defensive side of late. Anderson has used the JUCO method for several years between his stints at Arkansas State – and currently with Utah State.
Utah State runs a spread offense where receivers line up outside the numbers to create space and open field for everyone involved. This forces the defense to play the entire length of the field. Since the defense can’t put eight men in a box, it allows Utah State to excel in the run. With their wide splits, the WRs work in space and create for their quarterback. The system is predicated on a QB that can process the defense quickly; with a good arm for short to intermediate throws. Mobility is also a prerequisite as they will use the QB in the run game.
Utah State plays at a fast tempo. Their goal is to get the snap off with 25-30 seconds left on the play clock. The Aggies will throw a lot of short concepts and then mix in some sluggo’s and other vertical concepts to make the corner bite on the fake, only to get beat over the top.
Spring and Fall Camp
Utah State was coming off a down season with question marks throughout the entire football roster. Blake Anderson took over play calling duties for the Aggies this past spring. Per ESPN power index, which calculates probabilities of wins, Utah State was ranked 113th out of 133 teams. They had an expectation of 5-6 wins with the probability of 42% on making a bowl game. It was expected to be another down year for a rebuilding team. The offense looked far superior to the defense at the Spring game in which I was in attendance.
Start of the Season
The Aggies began the year going to Iowa. In the end, they didn’t have the manpower to spring the upset. After an easy win against Idaho State, they lost back-to-back games against Air Force and James Madison. Yet it was the James Madison game where the offense clicked.
Cooper Legas, the starting quarterback to begin the season, was knocked out due to injury. True Freshman McCae Hillstead would get the start and threw for 399 yards. Hillstead gave Utah State the lead into the third quarter. But they would be outmatched late by James Madison – who would end the season 10-2 and being ranked for a portion of the season.
Middle of the Season
The week after, Utah State traveled to UConn to win a thriller with a blocked field goal to secure the victory in the final seconds. In this game, we would see WR Jalen Royals blossom. The offense was firing on all cylinders, but Utah State had a revolving door at quarterback.
McCae Hillstead would be concussed and Cooper Legas was inserted back into the lineup. Utah State would find a way to beat Colorado State and the duo of Terrell Vaughn and Jalen Royals catapulted the offense. The Aggies put up 44 points, at 3-3 halfway through the season. It was during this stretch where we saw Jalen Royals have 9 touchdowns in eight quarters of play. The defense for Utah State was not able to stop anybody and their weakness was stopping the run. They would go on to lose back-to-back games versus Fresno State and San Jose State.
Finish of the Season
In Week 10, the Aggies would find a way to beat San Diego State in double overtime. It was this win that seemed to gel the team together. They won in all three phases and were able to ride that momentum. The following week they defeated Nevada, kept it close against Boise State and ended the regular season beating New Mexico in double overtime with third-string quarterback Levi Williams.
Bowling
Utah State would reach six wins and go to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Georgia State – and could not hang with that offense. They would end the year 6-7. While it ended on a losing note, there was a point in the season where a bowl game seemed inconceivable. And while the seniors could not be sent off with a victory, the class helped reshape Utah State into being a perennial bowl contender in college football.
Team MVP
Wide receiver Jalen Royals in his second year in the program is someone that we at the Devy Digest have talked about as a true asset. A verified 6 feet even, at 193 pounds with 4.3 40-yard speed, it took Royals his second year into the program to breakout – and breakout he did. Royals was by far the best player on the roster. He accumulated 71 receptions, 1,080 yards with 15 touchdowns. Royals was named third team All-American in 2023.
Freshman of the Year
While the defense has been put in a bad light, EDGE Paul Fitzgerald had eight sacks as a Freshman. Fitzgerald was one of the lone bright spots for the defense. Fitzgerald was a 3⭐️ in the composites; he is someone the defense should focus around as they try and continue to beef up the front seven.
Concerns
The front seven on defense is a major concern. Utah State could not stop the run all season and running backs feasted on this defense. To try and help the position, the Aggies recruited for the defense. On early national signing day they were able to grab edge rusher Marlin Dean. Dean spent a year at Georgia before going the JUCO route and is a 4⭐️ prospect with two years left to play. They also pulled Jalen Royals from Georgia by way of JUCO as well.
In total, including the transfer portal, they would address the defense by adding 11 players. This includes Will Shaffer, a linebacker who played at Arizona State this past season.
2023 Conclusion
Back in April, if you told Aggie fans that they would go to a Bowl Game, have a wide receiver to catch 15 touchdown passes, and develop as an all around player that would be named third team All-American, fans would consider that a very successful season. That is the outlook they must have.
The Aggies have a trio of running backs who were successful to pair with a very good WR room. The QB play, while inconsistent, fared well as a whole. The offensive line will need to improve; as does the front seven on the defensive side.
The Aggies were fairly young as they started a lot of sophomores and juniors. The future looks bright in Logan and there should be a lot of excitement and optimism for the 2024 season. The first step will be when the team gets together for 2024 Spring camp.
Andy Pham
Andy is the creator of the Devy Digest. His passion is devy and C2C. Andy's Devy Diguest articles provide insightful, yet thoughtful commentary to give you a leg up on the devy prospects so you know how to approach your devy and C2C drafts. With The Devy Digest podcast, Andy provides episodes of interesting and exciting topics and when he invites guests, you get to be a fly on the wall, listening in on two people having a conversation where they give you a different perspective. Come, join the journey that is Andy's Devy Digest.