Aggies run more in Monday scrimmage
The USU offense did something unusual in Monday’s football scrimmage: It ran the ball as much as it passed.
Running back Roger Fernandez took advantage of it by running for 69 yards on 13 carries, gaining more than any Aggie quarterback at the practice fields in a 50-play scrimmage.
“I thought we ran the ball fairly well today,” said head coach Mick Dennehy. “Roger has nice speed.”
The strong rushing game opened up the entire offense, as the team scored three touchdowns.
“We took a step forward in areas that were a concern,” Dennehy said.
USU’s No. 2 offense, led by Jeff Crosbie and Fernandez, rolled up the No. 2 defense. Surprising because Crosbie had only practiced three times before the scrimmage.
“Jeff did a nice job moving the ball club,” Dennehy said.
Crosbie, Robert Fockaert and Travis Cox are all competing for the backup job behind Jose Fuentes. Surprisingly, the backups faired much better. They combined for 135 yards on 14 of 16 passing. Fuentes was only 1 of 6, although it went for 50 yards to Chris Stallworth.
The No. 2 offense started with three-straight first downs on a scoring drive capped by a touchdown catch by Casey Poppinga. It took only five plays for that same offense to score again, this time on an 8-yard touchdown run by Fernandez.
“[The offensive line] breaks down everything,” Fernandez said. “This offense is total perfection.”
Cox threw the final touchdown of the day – a 10-yard pass to J.R. Suguturaga in goal line offense drills. However, he was also the only victim of an interception, being picked off after a pass was tipped by defensive back Derrek Shank.
“I’m really pleased, for the most part, with the way the No. 1 defense played,” Dennehy said.
The Aggie defense had its moments as Ryan Solomona, Ryan Duncan, Jared Johnston and Casey Bingham all had sacks. Bingham, a walk-on freshman from Hyrum, had two on the day.
“We started off a little slow,” said junior defensive back Jamar Glasper, “but now we’re getting up to speed. Everyone is doing his job.”
The Aggies practice today and Monday; the annual Blue-White game will be played in Romney Stadium at 6:30 Friday.