Defense anchored by linebacker corps
They were under the gun all season long. Beset by injury and forced to rush several new players into action, the Utah State University defensive had a rough season finishing 110th in the country in total defense.
Last year is in the past and the Aggies are looking to be much improved this season. With the addition of former starters Nick Onaindia and Tony Newson – both of whom missed the 2000 season with various injuries – and the return of seven starters who have a year more of experience, the team seems on its way.
“Now, we’re just a lot more experienced; we’re a lot more used to the things that are going on,” said junior cornerback Ade Jimoh. “It’s not as big as a surprise to us. We know how to prepare better for games this year.”
“It’s been remarkable to see the progress that we have made.”
Defensive Line
Perhaps the most experienced position on the entire Aggie team is the defensive line.
The Aggies will return three of four starters from last year. They also return experienced backups, one of which is Onaindia.
Onaindia, who received a medical hardship after missing the majority of the 2000 season due to a neck injury, has worked extremely hard in the offseason and is one of the defensive leaders on the team, said USU head coach Mick Dennehy.
“I would think those guys [Onaindia and Newson] would be the two players the guys look up to,” Dennehy said.
With the return of Onaindia, 11-game starter Ryan Duncan will be available coming from the bench. Duncan enjoyed a solid 2000 campaign, finishing with 51 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and a team best, four sacks.
Returning starters Jorge Tapia and Nate Putnam gained valuable experience their freshman seasons and are primed for even better sophomore seasons.
Putnam was the only freshman in the Big West Conference to earn first-team all-league honors a year ago. Tapia made huge strides toward the end of the season. The two players accounted for 24 tackles for loss.
Joining Onaindia, Putnam and Tapia in the starting lineup is former walk-on and USU track and field standout Tyler Olsen. Olsen has impressed the USU coaching staff with his devotion to hard work, Dennehy said.
Adding depth to the front line is Jared Solosabal, who also saw plenty of playing time last season, as well as Jeremy Guenter, Casey Bingham, Brian Bowers, Ty Cahoon and Ryan DeQuillettes.
Linebackers
All three starters from last season have graduated, including first-team all-BWC selections Brent Passey one of just six players in USU history to be named first-team all-league for three years– and Blake Eagal. For those who are unfamiliar with Aggie football, this would appear to be a devastating loss. This couldn’t be further from the case.
Though the starters will be missed, the linebackers will once again be the strength of the Aggie defense.
“It hurts losing three starters, but the guys coming back should be just as good or better,” said junior Jesse Busta.
Busta was the backup to Cade Smith last season, but didn’t play like one. Busta finished second on the team and fourth in the BWC with 110 tackles, including a career-high 17 against Boise State University. As a result, Busta was a first-team all-league selection.
Returning from season-ending shoulder surgery is senior Tony Newson. A second-team all-conference player his junior season (first-team by the Sporting News), Newson will be looked upon to anchor the Aggie defense at his middle backer position.
Redshirt freshman Robert Watts and sophomore Rodney Wilson are battling for the other starting linebacker position.
Junior Ryan Solomona and sophomore Scott Hunt add experience and make the Aggies two-deep at all of the linebacker positions.
Also expected to compete for playing time is Arizona State University transfer Kyle Siever, junior college transfer Brandon Tuft and true freshman D.J. Brookter.
Secondary
After ranking 109th in pass defense last season, the USU secondary is much more experienced and hungry to prove its doubters wrong.
“It was a little frustrating last year,” said secondary coach Derrick Odum. “For three guys, that was their first snaps in the secondary. That is a tough place, you can really get exposed there.”
All four expected starters gained immeasurable experience last season as Jimoh, Tony Walker, Jamar Glasper and Derrek Shank each started at least six games apiece.
Anchoring the Aggies secondary will be left cornerback Jimoh, a second-team all-league selection, and two-year starter Tony Walker. Jimoh and Walker combined for 20 pass breakups and three interceptions last year.
Glasper and Shank will man the strong and free safety positions. Shank tied Jimoh and Busta for the team lead with two interceptions.
Returning the entire starting unit, the Aggies also appear to be set for the future with the addition of high-school standouts Andre Bala, Steve Tate and Jerome Dennis and Mark Estelle-one of the top junior-college corners in the state of California last year.
Bala was named to the Texas 100 Club as one of the best 100 players in the talent-laden state of Texas, while Tate was the Utah Class 5A player of the year.
Senior Nathan Barber, one of USU’s top special teams players from a year ago, and sophomore Bryan Jackson will also see plenty of playing time.
Punter
Unlike the place kicker position, the punter position is set in stone.
For the third straight season, junior Steve Mullins will handle the punting duties.
An excellent athlete, Mullins was recruited as a quarterback and saw limited playing time at wide receiver last season. Mullins was selected as the punter on the Sporting News Freshman All-American team in 1999 and was a second-team all-conference player last season.
Mullins has been nominated for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter.