First impressions from USU’s spring football scrimmage
Spring football games are always incomplete affairs. Most of the incoming freshmen aren’t around — still attending high school — and many key transfers may also be missing. For Utah State, health was also a limiting factor. Only seven offensive linemen were healthy (and all came out unscathed luckily) and transfer quarterback Logan Bonner was also out with a broken foot.
All that said, there were a few things one could glean from the three 10-minute periods of football the Aggies went through on Saturday. Some players are already standing out and certain themes are present. It’s also clear some of the areas USU will need to improve in during the summer and fall practice periods.
For those curious, the scrimmage pitted the offense and defense against each other with the defense receiving points for stops, turnovers and other actions. The offense received points for touchdowns, field goals, and punts that ended up inside the 10-yard line.
The QB room is improved, but the real competition is still to come
The final stat lines show that Andrew Peasley and Cooper Legas had solid games (16-of-24, 234 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT for Peasley and 11-of-16, 132 yards, 2 TDs for Legas) but watching live it just didn’t feel great. The start of the scrimmage was brutal. Through the entirety of the first period, the two had just one completed pass between them that went beyond the line of scrimmage.
Thankfully, things got much better. Both made some good plays and had solid throws down field, which is what this team really needs. With Shelley last year, USU’s offense was limited to passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage because Shelley couldn’t throw a good pass further than that. Peasley and Legas at least showed they could do that, but it remains to be seen how consistent they can be at it. Both lack superior arm strength and heavily rely on their legs to make plays when things don’t go perfectly.
If Peasley remains the starter, Utah State won’t be as bad passing as last year, but may struggle to pass the ball effectively for most of the season. But Logan Bonner, who transferred from Arkansas State to follow Blake Anderson, hasn’t even had a chance to show what he can do in Logan. He’s just barely begun to throw in practice and won’t get real reps until summer and fall practices. We’ll have a much better picture of the QB depth chart then.
Running backs came to play
While the quarterbacks took a minute to catch on, the running backs were solid from the beginning and only got better. John Gentry took most of the first-team snaps and averaged 6.5 yards per carry, totaling 11 attempts, 72 yards and one TD.
Gentry certainly wasn’t the only playmaker on the ground. Cooper Jones led all rushers with 94 yards on 10 carries, thanks largely to two big runs, the longest being a 50-yard scamper. The 5-foot-6 junior college transfer displayed top-end speed on those plays and even finished off a drive with a one-yard TD run. Pailate Makakona, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound redshirt back displayed power on a few plays and had a 16-yard run. Calvin Tyler Jr., a transfer from Oregon State, had 41 yards on 10 carries and added one catch, a 15-yard touchdown reception.
In all, three Aggie running backs averaged north of five yards per carry and each of those three had at least nine carries.
Gentry seems to have a solid grasp on the top spot, but there’s talent and variety in the running back room at Utah State.
Deven Thompkins is still explosive
2020 was supposed to be the breakout year for Thompkins, but the various and numerous issues surrounding Utah State that season suppressed that potential breakout. On Saturday, he showed just what he might be able to do game-in and game-out this season. He caught six passes and tallied 121 yards and two touchdowns. On the longest play of the day, Thompkins caught a simple five-yard curl and took it 59 yards to the house.
Thompkins had several other great catches and it’s clear that he’ll be featured in the offense. One small note is that Thompkins lined up at running back on one play, though he didn’t take a handoff. Thompkins in the backfield will be something to keep an eye out for in the future.
Very up-and-down defense
The defense started well, and based on the scrimmage scoring system, had a 17-0 lead at one point. But they eventually lost 53-46. The defense had two interceptions and five sacks, but allowed 382 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air. The defense had 15 tackles for loss, but as mentioned earlier, several running backs had great games. The yards per rush from the offense was 4.3 but that’s including yards lost from sacks. Limited to just carries by running backs, the yards per carry rate was 6.1.
The key on defense is there appears to be more depth. And with more help on the way via transfers and guys getting healthy, it’s very likely this group can keep improving and be a force come fall.
Energy and excitement
The 2020 season was very deflating for the program, but this scrimmage had plenty of excitement. Players got pumped and were competing hard. When Jaden Smith jumped in front of a Josh Calvin pass to pick it off, his fellow defenders rushed the field and then ran 50 yards toward the end zone celebrating the great play by Smith.
The scrimmage itself came down to the final play. The offense had the ball on the one-yard line, score tied 46-46 and with the clock running down, there would only be one more play. A stop would give the defense points and the win, a touchdown would win it for the offense. And when Cooper Jones ran it in, it was the offense’s turn to rush the field and celebrate their victory.
@jwalker_sports
—sports@usustatesman.com