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State your case, quarterback edition

Kent Myers

With respect to how each and every Aggie quarterback has stepped up when his number’s been called this season, the most impressive has been the true freshman, fourth-stringer Kent Myers.

Myers combines the dual-threat ability of Keeton with a cannon of an arm that matches early-season hero Darell Garretson. The kid threw for 186 yards and three touchdown passes in his first career start and did it on the road in Hawaii. That’s all you can ask from your starting quarterback, let alone your backup backup’s backup.

The more impressive stat from the Hawaii game was Myers’ accuracy. The final game book shows that he completed 14 of his 15 passes, however it fails to include that Myers’ lone incompletion was thrown to a receiver who got his hands on the ball before getting crushed with what should’ve been called an illegal hit. Myers also completed two additional deep passes that were negated by penalties.

Just in case you thought it was a fluke, Myers completed 13 of 16 in Friday’s game against Wyoming — also on the road. His completion percentage and ability to pick up first downs with his legs are both the fruit of a much more significant quality in a budding quarterback — Myers makes smart decisions.

He’s willing to throw it short for the first down, he’s willing to try a strike deep downfield if he sees an open man and he’s got the guts to keep the ball if he doesn’t see anything he likes. Myers’ mania is real and it’s giving us a shot at Mountain West supremacy.

— Logan Jones

Darell Garretson

If injuries have taught us anything, it’s that the Aggies have a few quarterbacks on the roster that are good enough to start. Of the four starting quarterbacks, Darell Garretson has outperformed the other three, and it’s not even close.

In just his second start, Garretson stepped up and beat a ranked BYU team on the road. He racked up 321 yards, completed 76 percent of his passes and had a stellar 223.5 rating, while giving Utah State their first win in Provo since 1978. Before his injury, Garretson had a record of completing only 67.4 percent and 1140 yards in just 5 games, showing that he was worthy of being the starting quarterback.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that everybody is getting behind true-freshman Kent Myers; he’s played out of his mind the last few games. Just remember that two of those games were against UNLV and Hawaii, two schools that have flirted with the idea of cutting the football program.

Although I fully believe in Myers’ abilities, he simply hasn’t gotten the opportunity to prove himself in a big game yet. So until Myers gets his first victory on the in Boise on Nov. 29, Darell is still Utah State’s golden boy.

— Joe Baraiolo