Ags have Idaho gem
How tough it must be for the University of Idaho football program to watch the Aggie defensive unit.
After all, one of USU’s best defensive players came from its own state.
USU senior linebacker Jake Hutton was not highly recruited coming out of Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho – and the Vandals may be wishing they’d paid more attention.
After walking on to the Aggie football team in 2005, all Hutton did was lead the Aggies in tackles as a freshman with 87. He also jumped onto the national scene as he was the third-leading freshman tackler in the nation, with an average of 7.9 per game. Hutton has many memories from that year, including one of his favorites as player.
“My favorite memory is probably my first game ever,” Hutton said. “I came in as a true freshman and started my first game at Utah. Just being in that surrounding and walking into something like that, I felt like I accomplished something that I always wanted to do.”
Coming off that successful freshman campaign, Hutton picked up where he left off. He again led the Aggies in tackles through the first four games of the 2006 season, but a foot injury against BYU cut his season short.
“I’ve kind of been plagued by injuries,” Hutton said. “That’s one thing that’s been disappointing.”
Despite the injury, Hutton’s hard work paid off. His coaches were so impressed with him that he was awarded a scholarship before ever playing a snap for the Aggies. Hutton has now been a scholarship player for four years after walking on to begin his career. Though his foot injury has lingered, Hutton started all 12 games for the Aggies last season and again led the team in tackles with 102.
A game-high 16 of those stops came at Idaho last year. Hutton said he has no love for the Vandals and expects a lot of his friends to be at the game wearing Aggie blue.
“No one likes Idaho anyways,” Hutton joked.
Hutton is again battling his foot injury this season, but that hasn’t seemed to slow him down yet. A weight room fanatic, he is second on the team in tackles (25) through the first three games.
“Hopefully I can get healthy,” Hutton said. “We’ve got a bye week coming up after this week, so hopefully I can get back and play the rest of the year at close to 100 percent.”
Along with his injury struggles, Hutton’s prowess on the field hasn’t come without giving up other hobbies. An avid snowboarder and wakeboarder, Hutton has had to give up those things to stay out of more injury trouble. When it’s all said and down, however, he said football will be what he misses most.
“Obviously I’ll miss football, just playing with the guys and the camaraderie of the team,” Hutton said. “Just waking up on Saturdays, smelling the air and knowing you’re going to battle with your friends – I’ll probably miss that the most. “
Hutton may not have to miss that feeling just yet. Because he did miss most of his sophomore season due to the foot injury, he said that he is going to ask the NCAA to grant him another year of eligibility. If granted, Aggie fans could again see one of the best tacklers in recent memory back on the field.
Right now his focus is on the year at hand, though, not on the future. Hutton said this week’s game against the Vandals – USU’s WAC opener – is definitely a big one to help turn the season around.
He said the Aggies need to stop shooting themselves in the foot and make the play when the opportunity is there.
“I think it’s just player mentality,” he said. “Some guys just need to come out more hyped for the game and not scared. Guys do things right in practice and then screw it up in the games. That’s just something we shouldn’t be having, especially with so many seniors on the field.”
Regardless of the Aggies’ 0-3 record to start the season, Hutton knows a win will move USU to 1-0 in WAC play and will help the team gain momentum in the conference.
With a winning WAC record on the line, the Idaho native is looking forward to vandalizing the Vandal offense.
-t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu
Hutton (53) during the Utah game. (Cameron Peterson)