Aggies set to reload with slew of junior college talent
Utah State head football coach Gary Andersen revealed the 2011 football signing class on Thursday, as high school seniors around the country faxed in their national letters of intent as part of National Signing Day.
“Overall it has been a good day,” said Andersen, whose program signed 28 total players. “I thought that our staff did a great job in a yearlong process and I believe that we competed at a high level.”
Andersen said he was particularly pleased with the coaching staff’s ability to bring in junior college players. Of the 28 players who will join the Aggie program in 2011, 14 will come from junior colleges. While he admitted bringing in so many junior college players was not originally part of the team’s recruiting plans, Andersen said low numbers in the current junior class had to be addressed. Aside from providing stability to the junior class, Andersen was optimistic that the addition of the game-tested players will boost the team’s performance next season.
“The junior college kids we did take were some of the best players we had on our board and I am pleased to have them,” Andersen said.
Headlining the Utah State recruiting class is Bojay Filimoeatu, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound outside linebacker from Mt. San Antonio Community College. Filimoeatu passed up scholarship offers to Kansas State, Iowa State and Nevada to come to Logan. Andersen had nothing but positive things to say about Filimoeatu, who is expected to compete for a starting spot as USU moves to a 3-4 defensive scheme.
“On paper, watching his junior college film, he is a young man that we hope, as a defense, allows us to be able to change the line of scrimmage,” Andersen said.
In total, 17 defensive players signed with the class. Andersen, who named himself defensive coordinator for the upcoming season, said focusing the team’s recruiting efforts on shoring up the front seven was a major part the team’s philosophy this offseason, especially considering the low personnel numbers Utah State had on the roster.
“We also looked at the numbers of productivity from our front four and outside linebacker, as well as the graduation of several defensive players and really felt that it needed to go up,” Andersen said.
“The key was to recruit length and size; we were able to do that and were able to get what we needed,” Andersen added when asked about his philosophy with recruiting on the defensive line.
According to Rivals.com, a leading recruiting evaluation service, Utah State signed the top recruiting class in the Western Athletic Conference. That calculation, based on total recruits signed as well as quality of recruits, bested Hawaii and Louisiana Tech, respectively, for the top positions. Whether or not the class can translate offseason hype into production remains something to be seen in future seasons, but judging on Andersen’s ability to land several high-profile junior college and high school players when going head to head against other WAC and state schools, that future looks bright.
“People are always going to ask ‘how good of a class did you have?'” Andersen said. “The only way that I know how to compare it, is against the guys you are competing against as far as signing recruits. … we didn’t win every battle but we certainly won our fair share.”
Andersen said the program inked commitments from 21 of 25 players who visited campus. This comes at a critical time for USU athletics, as concerns about the future of the WAC caused several other schools to attempt to lure prospective recruits away from Utah State. Andersen declined to point out specific schools and coaches which used those tactics against USU, but said the uncertainty the WAC finds itself in did not affect USU’s ability to sell itself as both a university and up-and-coming football program.
“It came up with coaches through the recruiting process,” Andersen said. “Other coaches bringing up what they think the direction the WAC is headed, which is completely wrong. There were some interesting comments made on the back end of that.”
“Regardless of what happens, we are always going to be in a quality conference,” he added.
Aside from addressing concerns on the offensive and defensive lines, Andersen ruled the class a success because of the high amount of in-state and mission prospects the team signed. The third-year headman was particularly pleased with signing 11 Utah players, especially given the increased competition the Aggies faced when recruiting Beehive State prospects.
“I think that we did an excellent job of getting the 11 guys out of Utah, which is our number one priority when we start talking about recruiting,” Andersen said.
Above all, Andersen stressed that signing day was not just about getting great athletes for future Aggie teams, but getting commitments from the best young men who fit the program’s goals on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
“These are quality young men, it is not just going out and recruiting football players, but that there was a fit with Utah State and the young men who chose to sign with us,” Andersen said. “I really believe that all the young men we signed are a good fit for this program and for the university.”
– adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu