USU FB: Aggies hold first scrimmage of 2023
LOGAN — Utah State Football held its first scrimmage of spring camp on Saturday afternoon. After three weeks of spring ball practice indoors, the team was eager to get back to the stadium and play in the sun with fans watching.
“Absolutely gorgeous day we haven’t had weather like this in a while as everybody’s aware of so to be able to get out and the sun to be shining was just an absolute blessing for us. I think you can tell the guys are excited to be out,” third-year head coach Blake Anderson said.
Anderson was happy with the first scrimmage and is looking forward to progressing before the 2023 season.
Blake Anderson stands in front of the post-scrimmage huddle. (Phil Weber/The Utah Statesman.)
“We ran more plays than I anticipated we would get,” Anderson said. “It was a great first scrimmage. There’s so much to fix, but excited about where the guys are at just in terms of how hard they work and how much fun they’re having playing and how this group is coming together. Now, the real work starts. We will go in and dissect it and figure out just how bad we really are. I would say right now we are not very good in any phase, but there was good on both sides.”
The scrimmage ended with nine touchdowns, 530 passing yards and 337 rushing yards for the offense.
After Anthony Tucker left the offensive coordinator position, Anderson stepped in. Wide Reciever Terrell Vaughn has seen a difference with Anderson in that position.
“It’s more detailed,” Vaughn said. “You need to learn more about what you’re doing, where the linebackers are at and where to shut it down. You need to be smarter on the offensive side and just work off that.”
The Aggie defense had 11.0 sacks and 23.0 tackles for loss and one interception. Joe Cauthen has stepped in as the new defensive coordinator and brought in a new defensive look.
“I think it’s it’s gonna be a really good scheme for us once we play it right, once we begin to communicate and play more disciplined,” defensive tackle Hale Motu’apuaka said. “It’s a very sound defense but it lets us still play and create habits like we want to do. There’s a long way to go.”
Players and coaches on the defense came out with high energy, ready to show what they’ve been working on. Several players on the defense, including cornerback Ajani Carter and linebacker MJ Tafisi, sat out due to injury. Anderson said the D-line is depleted but they are practicing with the guys they have and looking to recruit more.
“There are some good things that we did in the scrimmage, but not enough,” Motu’apuaka said. “There’s a lot of undisciplined football being played in terms of the defensive line dropping offsides. We’re just trying to work on our communication and play disciplined football.”
The team took advantage of the scrimmage and frequently moved players around. They also utilized the outdoor space and prioritized moving the ball threw the air.
Levi Williams runs onto the field during USU Football’s first spring scrimmage of 2023. (Phil Weber/The Utah Statesman.)
Senior quarterback Cooper Legas had two touchdowns and was 20-of-33 passing for 198 yards. Junior QB Levi Williams also had two touchdowns and led the team with 14-of-19 passing for 246 yards. Freshman quarterback Bishop Davenport was 5-of-10 passing for 86 yards. Chase Tuatagaloa and McCae Hillstead, QBs further down the depth chart, also got playing time.
Throwing the ball downfield showed the talent of the team’s wide receivers throughout the scrimmage. Out of the 14 Aggies to catch a pass, Vaughn had seven receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Otto Tia caught six passes for 64 yards and wide receiver Jalen Royals got four for 57 yards. New Aggie wide receivers, Stanford transfer Colby Bowman and junior-college transfer Micah Davis, caught long touchdown passes of 60 yards.
Cooper Jones rushes upfield during the Aggies’ first 2023 scrimmage. (Phil Weber/The Utah Statesman.)
Running back Cooper Jones led his group with 114 rushing yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. RB Jordan Wilmore had 62 rushing yards on 10 carries and 3 touchdowns and running back Davon Booth gained 77 yards on 10 carries. Rodney Freeman II joined USU as the new running back coach this week after Chuckie Keeton was let go.
“I let Chucky go, it was my decision and it was not forced upon me,” Anderson said. “He made a decision off the field. He crossed the line between coach and player and the player’s family. It’s that simple… He’s going to go on to be great. He’ll probably be the head coach here one day. But it wasn’t possible to move forward as we were. Rodney Freeman is going to do a great job. I hate letting people go. But if I can’t do it when it needs to be done, I don’t deserve to be the coach.”
Overall, the coaching staff and players were satisfied with how the scrimmage went. There is a lot they will be working on in the last few weeks of spring ball, but they are excited for what’s to come.
“This group is willing to work and they’re very coachable. They’re willing to be coached hard and our staff is doing a great job of that. We have a long way to go and scheme on both sides because this is a lot of new for both sides and there are a lot of new bodies,” Anderson said. “They come with good attitudes to work every day and that right there gives us a chance. To me, that’s a good starting point.”
Utah State Football will hold its annual Blue vs. White Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 22, at Maverik Stadium at 1 p.m. The 2023 season will begin on Sept. 2 at Iowa.
Featured image by Phil Weber.