PLAYERS TO WATCH: Aggie Football fall scrimmage edition

Utah State football will next be seen at Camp Randall Stadium taking on Wisconsin on September 1 on national television.

For the past several weeks, we’ve had ample opportunity to glean what we can from practices and scrimmages. No one outside of the team knows entirely what we’ll see when the Aggies roll out to face the Badgers, but we have several ideas. Here are four players, two offensive and two defensive, that we think are names to remember from USU football’s fall camp.

Eltoro Allen, junior

A crowded Aggie backfield got even more crowded when Allen burst into the picture during the Aggies’ final scrimmage on Saturday.

JC transfer @eltd_21 with the touchdown run off the pitch from @KMyersballin pic.twitter.com/y1ghmXCp77

— Daniel Hansen (@TheGrandDanny) August 19, 2017

The JC transfer is a junior this season, and looks to factor into a backfield that already showcases seniors Lajuan Hunt, Tonny Lindsay, and junior Justen Hervey. Without a feature back prior to the season opener, every guy will receive some traction and some chance to claim the job as their own. Eltoro is an unknown commodity coming from Riverside CC in California, but Saturday showed us just enough to clamor for more.

Jordan Nathan, redshirt freshman

While offensive coordinator David Yost has emphasized throughout camp that his offense will utilize many vertical routes to stretch the defense, you still need small, shifty guys to eat up the yards underneath. With Rayshad Lewis transferring out of USU, that role was completely open entering camps. Nathan appears to have staked a personal claim to it. The redshirt freshman is only listed at 5-9 and 175 pounds, but the dude is a speed demon with a knack for making defenders miss.

Jordan Nathan is going to be a real weapon for this team on both offense and special teams. Nobody can catch him pic.twitter.com/RU5b2ictSR

— Jaden Johnson (@JadenJohns0n) August 19, 2017

Yost’s offense will open up spaces on the edges and underneath for players to take advantage of with speed and quickness. Nathan has gobs of both available to him.

Wesley Bailey, senior

Much of the defense will hinge on whether the secondary improves off of last season, when the team finished 71st in the country in team passing efficiency defense and 108th in pass yards per completion. In the second cornerback slot, Bailey will play a huge role in determining if that happens. With seniors Jalen Davis and Dallin Leavitt, we already know what to expect. But for the Aggies to be able to play seven in the box to help an inexperienced defensive line, both sides of the field will have to be in safe keeping. An excellent year from Bailey could do more to help the Aggie defense than almost any other player.

Adewale Adeoye, junior

Pronounced Ada-wally A-day-o-yah, Adeoye is built to destroy. At 6-3 and 270 pounds, he fits the mold of a one-man game-wrecker. Involved in the June 2015 car crash that involved three other Aggie defensive linemen, Adeoye has yet to translate his physical tools in on-field production, tallying only two tackles in seven games last season. As a junior, he’ll look to change that, and the gains on display throughout camp could be the precursor to such. The Aggie defense needs elite pass rushing on the edge to reach its full potential. From 2012 through 2014, the Aggies ranked in the top 25 in sacks per game in the NCAA. In the two years since, they haven’t broken the top 80. If Adeoye can convert a good fall camp to a good season, it would be an excellent first step in breaking that chain.

Bonus: this girl

Finish Strong #AggiesAllTheWay #FamilyFunDay pic.twitter.com/G7kVjSyMCE

— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 19, 2017

GALLERY