Holding the line
Switching from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense could be a subtle change but it could bring out a lot better results and it has lent a new demeanor to the Aggie defense.
“The 4-3 is a great scheme,” middle linebacker Matt Wiser said. “It’s a lot more attacking and it gets after offenses.”
“I go attack and go after the quarterback and the running backs,” right end John Chick said.
The key to the defense will be whether the Aggies can put together a four-man rush. Utah State head coach Brent Guy said it not only helps to pressure the quarterback it serves to protect the young linebackers and helps the veteran secondary keep the ball in front of them.
“For the defensive line everything is about attacking, getting to the quarterback, going up field and making a play,” left end Jarom Fano said. “The secondary covers the receivers and gives us enough time to get the sack.”
The defensive line has some experienced athletes and a couple of players in new positions. Fano is in his fourth season as an Aggie and is the starter at left end. Brian Soi, one of the starters at defensive tackle, spent 2003 at Hargrave Military Academy after he had originally signed with BYU out of Timpview High in Provo.
“Soi is a force,” starting center Nick George said. “Most of our defensive linemen are quick and they’re all effort guys that do what they need to do.
John Chick was a linebacker last year and with the move to the 4-3 defense was the odd linebacker out who was moved to defensive end. The move helped to simplify the game and technique for Chick, Guy said, he won’t have to worry about dropping into pass coverage.
“Chick will be a dominant end in this defense and league,” Guy said. “He plays with great intensity and he has a motor that runs all the time.”
E.J. Reid started on the offensive line last year and will see time at defensive tackle along with Frank Maile opposite Soi.
Reid came to Logan as a defensive lineman but was switched to the offensive line last year because of injuries.
Reid returns to his natural position to start this season.
The secondary doesn’t have any newcomers in the starting four as both corners saw action last year.
Right corner Cornelius Lamb has started 18 straight games, second on the team behind offensive tackle Donald Penn. Jarrett Bush will start at left corner. He played in all 11 games last year and started in two of them.
The safeties have freshman All-American Terrance Washington, who returns from an injury during his sophomore year to start alongside the second leading tackler from last year, Andre Bala.
The linebacker corps shrunk from not only the scheme change but with the graduation of Robert Watts, who was a defensive leader last year.
Senior Matt Wiser will anchor the three linebackers as middle linebacker.
Wiser didn’t start until the last two games of 2005 but he had an interception in his first start and recorded seven tackles in his second.
Surrounding Wiser will be two freshmen, one a walk-on and the other a late signee. Jake Hutton, from Highland High in Pocatello, Idaho, was state defensive player of the year as a linebacker.
Devon Hall, played both linebacker and quarterback in high school earning first team all-league as the latter his senior year.
With the newer linebackers and the high-powered offenses of the Western Athletic Conference the players will need to look to their coaches to get them through the changes.
“The coaches have been around and a lot have coached at one school or another,” Wiser said. “They have played all these teams, so we just listen, learn and go out and execute the best we can.”
-krn@cc.usu.edu
Utah State´s Jason Walker tries to get around a block at a recent practice in Logan. Walker, a senior, is a safety on the Aggies´ defense. (Ryan Talbot)