Borel to lead way at San Jose
Game breaker, electrifying, exciting.
These are just some of the words used to describe USU’s sophomore signal caller Diondre Borel.
Borel, native of Oakley, Calif., has stepped in as the Aggies’ starting quarterback after starting the season as a backup. In his first start, he led the Aggies to their first win of the season, a 42-17 pummeling of Idaho. And, after a tough first quarter against No. 8 BYU, Borel returned in the second half to lead the Aggie offense on two scoring drives.
USU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Darrell Dickey said Borel’s ability to have a “short memory” is what makes him so effective.
“If you make a bad play, you can’t let it affect you for the rest of the plays,” Dickey said. “That’s one thing he’s been able to deal with at an early age.”
This week the Aggies return to WAC play, and with that, Borel gets to return to his home state. The Aggies are traveling to San Jose, Calif. to take on the San Jose State Spartans.
Borel said he originally grew up in San Jose before moving to Oakley, and along with many Aggie players, is expecting a lot of friends and family to be at the game.
“I’ve got a lot to prove. I’m from San Jose,” he said. “I just want everybody to see my talent, and I want to get this win for the team. We need to be 2-0 in the WAC.
Borel said one of the main reasons he decided to play for the Aggies, other than they recruited him the hardest, was because of the opportunity to help turn the program in the right direction.
“I’d like to help the team win and just try to make everyone better,” Borel said. “I just want to win games, that’s mainly it.”
With plenty of games left ahead of him, Borel is off to a good start for the Aggies.
So far this season he has ran the ball 68 times for 257 yards to become the second-leading rusher on the team – just six yards behind leading rusher Robert Turbin.
“My physical ability to run the ball, or if something is not there, just to create something and throw the ball down the field,” Borel said. “It’s things like that (that I bring to the game).”
Borel has also thrown for 604 yards and six touchdowns on the season, while only tossing three interceptions.
“Everybody sees on the field what an outstanding athlete he is with his running ability and his throwing ability,” Dickey said. “What maybe people don’t know is he’s pretty quiet, but he’s a young man of high character. He just does everything we ask him to do, and he’s really learning the game. Being a younger guy, he’s kind of having to carry the load right now.”
Along with adjusting on the field, Borel is also adjusting to life in Logan. He said the lifestyle is definitely different than where he came from, but he likes the quiet atmosphere, as well as the friendliness of most people in the valley. Sometimes he said it snows a little too much, though. Some of Borel’s off the field interests include watching movies, hanging out with friends or playing X-Box.
Dickey said despite Borel’s quiet demeanor, he is a leader on the field to his teammates.
“He’s not a real loud guy, he leads kind of by example,” Dickey said. “People just kind of gravitate to him and want to be around him. He’s just really happy to be here at Utah State. He’s excited to be playing quarterback, and very much wanting to help us score enough points to win games.”
Borel and the offense will face a stiff test this week when they take on the Spartans. San Jose boasts the WAC’s top defense and leads the league in sacks and takeaways, something the Aggies have struggled with.
“We’ve just got to keep our intensity up, not turn the ball over and not make mental mistakes,” Borel said.
Dickey said he’s been pleased with Borel’s progress and expects only improvement from the sophomore.
“He’s just learning an offense, and he’s learning it at a pretty accelerated pace,” Dickey said. “So far we’re really pleased with his progres. People can feel like that if he stays healthy and stays on course that the quarterback position will be in good hands the next couple years.”
–t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu
USU quarterback Diondre Borel moves the ball against BYU last Friday. (Cameron Peterson)