Defensive backs, backers hit
In this, the second of a three part series, the Statesman will preview the linebackers and defensive backs of the USU football team. For the casual fan, these are the guys who get all the hardest hits and interceptions on the Xbox game you play instead of doing your homework. These are the guys who make the girls in the student section cringe when they make a neck-breaking sack out of a blitz. The guys who knock the helmets off of wide receivers running across the middle of the field.
Linebackers:
Enter, Bobby Wagner. The 6-foot-1 senior from Ontario, Calif., led the WAC last season and tied for all of Football Bowl Subdivision with 11.1 tackles per game. Wagner already has 299 tackles in his career and needs just 28 tackles to break into USU’s top 10 career tackles list. He was voted the WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and will anchor a deep corps of linebackers this season at Merlin Olsen Field.
“I think I’ve proven myself in this program to be a guy that they can count on in a game,” Wagner said. “I feel like all the new players look at me for leadership and experience, and I’ve just kind of embraced that role.
As a perfect complement to Wagner, senior Kyle Gallagher will return as an emotional leader of the defensive unit. Gallagher finished last season with 91 total tackles – second, behind Wagner.
Levi Koskan led the Aggies in sacks last year as a defensive end but because of the recent switch to a 3-4 defense the USU coaching staff moved the Smithfield native from defensive end to outside linebacker, a move which raised eyebrows among Aggie fans. Koskan said he is perfectly comfortable with the switch.
“It’s been a little adjustment,” the 6-foot-4 senior said. “I am actually more comfortable doing the stuff they have me doing now. I drop into coverage a bit more, but besides that I am at home and doing what I like to do.
Koskan will be the first backer off the bench in USU head coach Gary Anderson’s new 3-4 defense, truly showing how deep the Aggies are at linebacker this season.
Another linebacker expected to make an impact is junior transfer Maurice Alexander. The 6-foot-2 junior from Arizona Western College was a two-time first-team all-Western States Football League and helped the Matadors win back-to-back championships in the WSFL.
Defensive Backs:
Last year opposing teams averaged 249 passing yards against Utah State and passed for 20 touchdowns, reflecting poorly on the defense as a whole, but especially the defensive backs.
“We were not as bad from the back end in my opinion after we went back and looked at last year as the stats state,” Anderson said.
At safety, look for Walter McClenton to make a lot of stops. The senior out of Arlington, Texas, started 10 games for the Aggies last year and finished the season third with 62 tackles. Also look for Juan Diego High School-product Frankie Sutera to make an impact. The 6-foot-1 freshman redshirted last season and is looking to make his first tackles for the Aggies in the 2011 season. Senior Nick Vought should also make good things happen at safety. Vought appeared in nine games last year and had one fumble recovery.
The cornerbacks are led by two men from the Sunshine State. Sophomore Nevin Lawson and junior Quinton Byrd were both recruited out of Florida to be cornerbacks for the Aggies. To complement the speedy southern duo, Anderson and his coaching staff have brought in Jummane Robertson from Phoenix Community College. With the recent dislocated shoulder injury to starting corner Cameron Sanders, Robertson has been asked to step in.
“I’ll fill the shoes in until he’s back, but we have depth at the cornerback position,” Robertson said. “As a junior college recruit I am expected to play. That’s what I was told to prepare for in the summer.”
Anderson said his defense has depth at cornerback.
“Jummane has done a good job. Terrance has come in and done some nice things for us. Nevin has been very solid all camp,” Andersen said. “Quinton Byrd is so reliable with his knowledge of the defense. Quinton has won two games on the last play of the game for us in the last two years, so he’s a very important part of that corner crew.”
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu