Jordan Love set to captain the ship in 2018
Utah State’s season will go as far as Jordan Love can take them.
Aggie fans got a taste of the future over the second half of last season. Following two straight losses in Mountain West play, the reins of the offense were handed to Love completely in hopes of turning the season around, with the team standing at 3-4 and in danger of missing out on a bowl game for the second straight season.
The offense responded immediately, dropping 52 points in a road victory over UNLV to kick off a stretch of three wins in four games to become bowl eligible. Love continued to impress as a freshman, throwing for over 200 yards per game on average while tossing six touchdowns to only two interceptions.
“Anyone that watches, they know he’s a gamer and I think that’s the biggest thing I want in a QB personally,” said junior tight end Dax Raymond, who saw . “You sense the passion. He’s not out there just to throw the ball a couple times. He’s out there to win. He’s out to get the first down and get touchdowns. He wants to win games and that’s what we need at the QB position especially.”
But for USU to climb back into the MW’s elite, Love will have to elevate his play even higher. The Aggies have not averaged over 400 yards per game in a season since 2013, their first in the MW conference. Utah State has been outgained by their opponents in each of the past two seasons. A defense that returns nine starters should help in that regard. An improved Love would further bolster it.
“I’m trying to improve on always having a place to go with the ball,” said Love. “That comes with knowing the offense, being able to read defense and knowing where people are going to be at. Another thing that comes with that is my accuracy, trying to improve that and have this year be just another step forward. I’m always trying to find the guys up on the field and hit them.”
That mindset may lead to a far more open offense than has been the custom recently for USU. After topping 30 attempts in a game just once over the first 11 games of the year, Love passed that threshold in each of the final two games of the season, including a career-high 44 attempts in the bowl game versus New Mexico State. The increased workload didn’t affect efficiency, however, with the two games ranking as Love’s fourth and fifth most accurate outings on the year. That momentum carried over into the offseason, Love’s first as the entrenched starter.
“This offseason he knew he was going to be the guy. I really think that just built confidence for him,” said Raymond. “It built confidence in the O-line and the receivers and tight ends where we trust him and he trusts us more and it’s more confidence for him which I think has really helped his ability to play.”
Knowing his importance as the team’s starting QB, Love recognizes his need to step up in terms of on-field play and off-field leadership. With a number of the team’s leaders from last season now graduated, the void of leadership is largely Love’s to fill.
“He’s prepared himself as a starter,” said offensive coordinator David Yost, “and that way you’re not really competing with others, you’re competing with yourself. What we’ve tried to ask him to do is step outside of what he’s done in the past and do more. The “more” probably comes from leading the offense and being the vocal guy as much as you can and he’s done a good job within his own personality because he’s not a big talker that’s not natural for him but it’s preparing himself to be the best player he can be.”
Now in his second year as offensive coordinator at Utah State, Yost has spent over three decades in the coaching ranks of college football, working specifically with quarterbacks for over 20 seasons. In that time, he’s overseen quarterbacks including Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel and first round NFL draftee Blaine Gabbert. During his 12 seasons on the coaching staff at Missouri, all five starting quarterbacks went on to the professional level after graduating. Suffice it to say, Yost knows quarterbacks.
“Jordan Love is right among them,” Yost says. “If he continues to progress with his skill set and his ability… he’s an NFL-level type quarterback as we go forward. That’s the expectation. That’s what we talk to him about. That’s what he’s going to be evaluated on. He should be playing Sunday when he’s done playing for us.”
That’s hefty praise to heap on a QB yet to throw more than 250 passes, but it’s praise Love himself believes in.
“I want (fans) to know I’m coming out here and I’m going to work every day and I’m going to be the best quarterback I can be,” said Love. “I want the best for this team. I want to win a Mountain West championship. I’m not going to settle for anything less.”
A MW title might seem a lofty and (for some fans) an untenable goal, but ESPN’s FPI projections give Utah State more than a 50 percent chance of victory in 10 of their 12 regular season games. The rest of the team seems to follow suit in Love’s confidence.
“We’ve felt the energy all offseason.,” said Raymond. “I really believe that the whole team is on the same track. We are on the same thought process and that’s to go compete for a Mountain West championship and I really think we have a legit chance to do it.”
That “legit chance” rests almost solely on Love’s ability to catapult the Aggie offense upwards. Utah State averaged almost 50 more yards per game after Love established himself as the full-time starter last season. The opportunity is there.
All the Aggies need is Love.