Utah State football winding down spring practices
With the NBA playoffs just around the corner and the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments down to their final four teams, it’s easy to forget that spring football at Utah State is here.
Not only are spring drills here, but are in full swing, with the culminating event, the annual Blue-White game less than two weeks away.
Until then, the Aggies, which started spring drills March 17, have a lot to work on, said USU Head Coach Mick Dennehy. But that doesn’t mean Dennehy isn’t pleased with his team’s work ethic on the field.
“Up until this point of time the kids’ effort has been good,” he said. “They’re trying to learn the things that are new, not only on the defense side of the ball, but the new offensive players that we need to pick up the departed players positions.”
Replacing several of those players will not be an easy task, though. Gone are three players who have their names etched in the USU record books in quarterback Jose Fuentes, wide receiver Kevin Curtis and linebacker Jesse Busta.
Despite having several team leaders graduate, Dennehy said he feels confident players like Travis Cox (quarterback), Chris Stallworth (wide receiver) and Derrek Shank (defensive back) are ready to assume leadership roles.
“There’s a lot of new faces this year, but there’s enough old one’s who’ve been there before, that I think can lead some of these other guys until they have a chance to get their feet wet,” Dennehy said.
Among the players getting “their feet wet” is the entire defensive unit, as the Aggies are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment. Although Dennehy said it will take a little while to completely implement, he is confident the team will execute it well come fall drills.
A successful change to the 3-4 set will allow the Aggie linebackers to make a lot of tackles, Dennehy said, but is predicated on the guys up front doing their jobs.
“I think it’s a challenging defense to play, but I think that it’s kind of set up for your back level players to make tackles,” he said. “They should have the opportunity to make a lot of plays.”
In addition to learning a new defensive set, Utah State has spent a lot of time in spring drills trying to help the new skill position players develop – especially the wide receivers, Dennehy said.
Thanks to the graduation of Curtis, who is projected by several NFL scouts to be a second- or third-round draft pick, and Gary Coleman, Dennehy said he is worried about the development of the wideouts.
“We lost a pretty talented group of receivers,” he said. “I really like the new kids’ ability … but they’re not as familiar with how we need to do things at this point in time. At this point in time they’re just overwhelmed with information, and they haven’t really digested it yet.”
This is hardly the case at the running back position, despite the transfer of James Samuel to Weber State, Dennehy said. Returning letterwinners David Fiefia and Richard Watson, as well as Ryan Kemp, have played extremely well, he said.
The three combined to gain 96 yards on 12 carries in USU’s controlled scrimmage last Saturday, including a 19-yard touchdown run by Fiefia.
“I feel better about our running game, offensively speaking, than I do about anything,” he said.
Then again, Dennehy said a lot of the credit goes to an offensive line, which has responded well to the loss of departing seniors Jim Newton and Luis Trujillo.
“I’m really pleased with the way Trevor Hutton and Aric Galliano, Donald Penn and some of those guys who have played for us are playing right now,” he said.
Spring drills will conclude with the Blue-White game April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Romney Stadium. The Aggies will also hold an inter-squad scrimmage at Northridge High School in Layton on Friday at 7 p.m.
Player Note:
After redshirting last season after having shoulder surgery, junior defensive end Nate Putnam is healthy again.
Putnam was the only freshman to earn first-team all-Big West Conference honors during the 2000 season.
“Nate’s shoulder is fine,” Dennehy said. “I think Nate probably feels better than he ever has physically, although right before spring practice started he got sicker than a dog and lost all of the weight he gained.”
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu