Familiarity adds fire to USU – BYU rivalry
Whenever two in-state rivals play against each other, there is bound to be a lot of familiarity between the programs. There will always be players who went to the same high school, guys who played each other in high school, coaches who have worked together in the past, and players who were recruited by both schools.
That’s what makes a rivalry fun. That’s why the teams love to play each other, and why they often do so year after year. The added excitement of playing against a team with several players and coaches you know is one of the things that truly makes college football rivalries great.
There is certainly no love lost on the field between Utah State and BYU, but off the field there are a surprising amount of common connections. At least 33 players from Utah State’s team have worn the same jerseys as a player on BYU’s team.
Quin Ficklin, a junior offensive lineman for Utah State, transferred from BYU prior to this season. He hopes to use his familiarity of the team to his advantage.
“I’ve played against these guys hundreds of times before,” he said. “I played against them in practice a lot, so I know all of the defensive linemen, the linebackers and the defensive backs”
Ficklin isn’t the only current Aggie who transferred from BYU. Senior cornerback Dallin Leavitt, sophomore linebacker Sialao Mobley, and junior offensive lineman Roman Andrus all spent some time in Provo before making the move to Utah State.
After transferring to Utah State for the opportunity to play the center position and to get more playing time, Ficklin said he keeps in regular contact with several of his former teammates and is looking forward to seeing them.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to play against them,” Ficklin said. “I’ve known Matt Hadley, who plays outside linebacker, my whole life. Our families go way back. His older brother took my sister to senior prom.”
Utah State head coach Matt Wells said the game against BYU is always a big one for the team, and one that he and the players always look forward to.
“It is a big rivalry to us,” Wells said. “It gets our guys excited. The stadium will be electric Friday night. I know the students are all fired up.”
“Hopefully, it’s a really loud home-field advantage for the Aggies. It’s a venue and a stadium and atmosphere that our guys are really excited to play in front of a national television audience. It’ll be fun.”
Ficklin said that despite the love and respect he has for his former teammates and coaches, he’s never regretted making the move to Utah State.
“It’s been one of the best decisions of my life,” he said. “I’m absolutely grateful and couldn’t be any happier. I wish I could have been at Utah State for my entire career – nothing against my three years there. I love Logan more than I love Provo and I love this university more than I loved BYU.”
Players from USU/BYU who have played together or attended the same schools in the past:
High School
Mountain Crest:
BYU – Moroni Pututau
USU – Gaje Ferguson, Alex Huerta
Timpview:
BYU – Corbin Kafusi, Creed Richardson, Chaz Ah You, Ricky Shumway
USU – Zach Van Leeuwen, Ofa Latu, Dax Raymond
East:
BYU – Ula Tolutau, Christian Folau, Merrill Talaiula, Joe Tukuafu
USU – Zach Swenson, Preston Curtis
Stansbury:
BYU – Zayne Anderson
USU – Chase Christiansen
Herriman:
BYU – Francis Bernard
USU – Sialao Mobley
Lone Peak:
BYU – Micah Hannemann, Talon Shumway, Austin McChesney
USU – Michael Smith, Baron Gajkowski
Davis:
BYU – Gavin Fowler
USU – Chance Parker, Moroni Iniguez
Centennial (NV):
BYU – Trajan Pili
USU – Jamaal Evans, Savon Scarver
Hunter:
BYU – Lorenzo Fauatea
USU – Ian Togiai
Mission Hills (CA):
BYU – Troy Warner, Fred Warner
USU – Justus Te’i
Bountiful:
BYU – Rylee Gautavai, Brady Christensen
USU – Jarom Ioane
Kahuku (HI):
BYU – Johnny Tapusoa
USU – KJ Uluave
Alta:
BYU – Rhett Sandlin
USU – Chandler Dolphin
Brighton:
BYU – Brayden El-Bakri, Bracken El-Bakri, Isaiah Kafusi
USU – Emerson Woods
Lehi:
BYU – Austin Whetzel
USU – Carson Terrell
Bishop Dunne (TX):
BYU – Micah Simon
USU – Braelon Roberts
College
Southern Utah:
BYU – Keyan Norman, David Low
USU – Connor Meyers
Arizona Western CC:
BYU – Austin Kafentzis
USU – Jaren Colston-Green
Oregon:
BYU – Wayne Tei-Kirby
USU – Damion Hobbs
Snow College:
BYU – Jonah Trinnaman, Oaks Morely, Hunter Marshall, Handsome Tanielu
USU – Zach Larson, Gaje Ferguson, Connor McGuire, Ofa Latu, Moroni Iniguez, Roman Andrus, Emerson Woods
Chabot JC (CA):
BYU – Trevion Greene
USU – Patrick Miranda
Riverside CC (CA):
BYU – Isaiah Armstrong
USU – Eltoro Allen
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Twitter: @jadenjohns0n
(This post was edited for clarity.)