Borel, Smith keep offense in high gear at scrimmage
Diondre Borel went 15-21 for 184 yards and a touchdown through the air on Saturday, as USU’s offense put to rest any lingering questions over whether it will be just as potent in 2010 as in 2009.
Donning full pads before a respectable crowd at Romney Stadium, the Aggies spared off in a two-hour long intrasquad scrimmage, which pitted the first team offense against the second team defense and the first team defense against the second team offense. Playing without 2nd Team all-WAC running back back Robert Turbin – who is out for spring drills as he recovers from an ACL tear – the Aggie offense didn’t miss a beat, with senior running back Michael Smith and junior receiver Stanley Morrison providing big-play highlights for the first team.
The Aggie offensive starters may have stole the show through a good part of the scrimmage, but USU head coach Gary Andersen said he was pleased with the efforts by both of his starting groups and that the back-and-forth level of competition during the scrimmage is indicative of just how much better USU’s defense has gotten this spring.
“There are a lot of encouraging factors,” Andersen said. “I thought we played better on defense, as far as moving to the ball and tackling. It was pretty good overall.”
USU quarterback Borel echoed his coach, saying, “Both sides of the ball are evenly matched. Our defense is making plays. We are going back and forth, and that is what we want.”
USU’s defense looked particularly strong early on during the scrimmage, as the rebuilt USU defensive line stonewalled the second team’s rushing attack. Brining pressure from multiple angles, Andersen’s defense looked faster than it has been in the past, and seemed to confuse backup quarterback Jeff Fisher at times. Linebacker Maxim Dinka proved especially difficult for Fisher and the backup Aggie linemen to account for, with the senior leading all defenders with two sacks and seven tackles on the afternoon. Junior college transfer Alfred Bowden also stood out while playing on both the first and second team defenses, finishing with eight tackles and forcing a fumble. In total, the Aggies recorded five sacks on the afternoon, with Daniel Guerrola, Cache Morgan and Reuben Willis all getting in on the action. While he was pleased with the pressure his defense was able to generate, Andersen said he’ll have to review film from Saturday’s scrimmage before turning in a final verdict on his defense.
“There were not enough turnovers,” he said. “I thought the pressure on the quarterback was decent, but we will see when we watch the tape.”
If Dinka and the defense showed improvement, than USU’s offense proved that its record-setting effort in 2009 was no fluke. During the course of the entire offseason, the Aggies have been dodging questions about whether they can sustain the momentum of last season even with an injured Turbin – who led USU with 1,296 rushing yards a season ago – but seemed to answer at least some of those questions with a strong performance on Saturday.
Filling in for Turbin, starter Michael Smith and backups Kerwynn Williams and Josh Flores all looked effective, with Smith showing off his sub 4.3 second 40-yard dash speed en route to running for 112 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Smith’s touchdown came on an 80-yard run, but perhaps just as impressive was his play as a receiver out of the backfield. He caught five passes for 91 yards, and only solidified his role as a playmaker in the offense. Not to be outdone, Williams showed exceptional quickness while rushing for 41 yards on eight carries, including a seven-yard touchdown run in which he outran the perimeter defense to the endzone. Andersen said the play of his running backs was impressive, but that Aggie fans shouldn’t be surprised.
“There were some big runs,” USU’s head coach said. “Michael Smith had some big runs out there. I thought he did a nice job, and Kerwynn Williams has been very steady. I think both of these young men have been very steady throughout the spring, not just today. They have played how I thought they could play.”
Smith was pleased with his performance but remained humble when discussing his production.
“I’m just trying to show what I can do and improve on a regular basis,” the senior said. “I thought the offense made some good plays, and I thought that there was a good comfort level out there today.”
USU’s first team offense got its first touchdown of the afternoon when receiver Stanley Morrison took an end-around 56-yards to the endzone. Outracing the defense to the perimeter behind several great perimeter blocks, Morrison made a brilliant cutback move in the open field before sprinting to paydirt. Morrison also proved to be a favorite target of Borel, snagging three balls for 36 yards and a score.
The Aggie second team offense also produced its share of highlights, with senior quarterback Fisher running the option with efficiency en route to two rushing touchdowns. Fisher connected with junior college transfer Xavier Martin on several occasion, including a big third-down conversion in which Fisher eluded pressure in the collapsing pocket. Senior running back Josh Flores also was a standout for the second team and tallied 64 total yards on the afternoon. But while the second team was able to move the ball in certain situations, the first team defense, by in large, shut down its second team teammates. While he expected as much from his starters, Andersen said Saturday’s scrimmage highlights the team’s need to build quality depth.
“First unit on offense and on defense was dramatically ahead of our two’s,” Andersen said. “There is some good and some bad in that statement. We need to improve with our two’s. I thought the first groups on both sides played well.”
The scrimmage was conducted with the health of the quarterbacks in mind, as both Borel and Fisher remained off-limits to tacklers. In addition to the security blanket given to the quarterbacks, Andersen organized the scrimmage so that both the offense and defense had opportunities to perform in red-zone and goal-line situations. In all, the Aggie offense racked up 409 passing yards and 411 rushing yards during the 79-play scrimmage, which was played with legendary Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden in attendance.
The Aggies will practice in a closed setting on Tuesday and Thursday of this week before hitting the field next Saturday for the second scrimmage of the spring. And while the Aggies have already shown that they may very well be a force to be reckoned with in WAC play next year, there is still lots of work to be done.
“I feel like we could get better on offense and defense with cleaning up mistakes,” Borel said. “That is one thing that we focus on that we need to get better at.”
– adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu
Andre Borel in action from last season vs. Boise State.