Borel can be USU’s game breaker
With all the changes that will be visible on the gridiron next season, none may be more visible, arguably more important, than the quarterback position. It takes a special athlete to run the spread offense, and in Diondre Borel the Aggies have just that.
“(Borel) is by far the most talented kid there,” said offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin. “Everybody knew that he was athletic and that was evident when we watched film. He is outstanding to play in the spread where he can make you miss with his feet.”
Aggie fans only have to look back as far as last season to see evidence of how good Borel can be. After taking over the starting job just three games into the 2008 season the sophomore quickly showcased his athleticism by shattering USU’s single-season rushing mark by a QB.
Borel rushed for 632 yards in his sophomore campaign, nearly doubling the previous record of 338. He also threw for 1,705 yards becoming just the 17th player in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark – and that was in an offensive system that didn’t play to his skill set.
Running the spread should only increase those numbers.
It’s given me a better opportunity to make more plays, put more guys out there to catch the ball,” Borel said. “They also have some runs for me in the spread offense, so I think it’s just a good offense for me and the team.”
Due to Borel’s ability to elude defenders and his propensity to want to make plays with his feet, Balwin said the coaches have really been stressing his pocket presence this spring.
“Those are things we’re asking him to do and he’s buying into it,” Baldwin said. “He can’t carry the ball 25 times a game. He can throw it 25 and he can carry it eight or nine and that’s what we’re asking, so if we can get him to continue that progress we’re going to have great success.”
Both Baldwin and Borel said early on the process was a slow one, but as the spring advanced he really improved on working through his progressions and finding the open man.
“What we tried to do this spring with him was make him a thrower and he really adapted into the program,” Baldwin said. “I think he became very accurate and learned … last year he was told right of the peak if it’s not there, run. We want him to run when we call his number on a run.”
Despite the focus on becoming a pass first QB, there’s no reason to expect that in this offense Borel could feasibly have a 1,000-yard rushing season.
“I think when you spread people out from sideline to sideline horizontally, it creates a pause on defense because they’ve got to be accountable for the quarterback. He is a running back in the spread offense,” Baldwin said. “If they don’t pay attention to him he’ll be a big play guy. We hope they do pay attention to him and the other guys can take over and do the things that they’re capable of doing. I think that’s what he provides in the spread offense is he’s dangerous running and you’d better account for him, and that will open up other things for us.”
Borel also alluded to the danger the offense will pose as a unit.
“I think we’ll be a lot more dangerous than we were last year. We had big plays last year, but this year we’ve got a lot of guys stepping up,” he said. “Guys are catching the ball and running after the catch, and we’ve got a lot