USU signs 27 recruits to play football
USU’s football team got a lot younger on Wednesday as 27 recruits signed on to play football for the Aggies.
Of those signed, 24 are freshman. Three junior college transfers also signed with the team.
“We are going to build with youth and supplement with junior college, not the opposite,” Head Coach Brent Guy said. “The plan has stayed the same since I got here.”
Not only did Guy bring in young talent. He also said he wanted to bring in an even number of players on offense and defense and get a kicker
“We started off with a goal of getting 12 and 12 and a kicker. We were able to do that,” Guy said.
On offense, the Aggies signed five offensive lineman, three wide receivers, two running backs and two quarterbacks. Defensively there will be four defensive lineman, four linebackers, two safeties and two cornerbacks.
They also got a kicker in Peter Caldwell (6-4, 213) from Davis High School (Kaysville, Utah). While at Davis, Caldwell averaged 43 yards per punt and made 15 of 16 field goals with a long of 57 yards. Also, 85 percent of his kickoffs were touchbacks. Guy pointed out that Caldwell will come on and be able to make an immediate impact.
“He had two late Pac-10 offers but had already committed to us and kept his word,” Guy said. “He is a man of his word. He is a talented kid, and I’ve already told him he is going to have an impact.”
In addition to Caldwell, the Aggies signed on six other players from the state of Utah, including three local players.
Mark Watterson (6-0, 165, WR) from Mountain Crest High School originally signed on with USU in 2004 before going on an LDS Church mission.
Joining Watterson on the team from the valley will be Logan High graduates Junior Keiaho (6-4, 220, DE) and offensive lineman Tanner Richins (6-6, 310). Keiaho had signed last year but did not enroll in school until this semester, and Richins is expecting to go on a church mission.
Other Utah natives include Provo High School teammates Austin Alder (5-11, 175, WR) and Funaki Asisi (6-4, 290, OL). Nate Needham (6-2, 220, LB) from Pineview High in St. George signed on with the team but is expecting to go on a mission in the fall.
One need the Aggies wanted to fill was the quarterback position. With freshman quarterback Riley Nelson leaving on a mission, Leon Jackson III was the only returning player with any real game-time experience. Sean Setzer (6-3, 220) transferred from Garden City Junior College, where in his sophomore season he threw for 2,034 yards and 13 touchdowns while hitting 168 of 292 passes. He also ran for seven scores.
“We did sign Sean Setzer, the JC player, because we had a hole in there. We felt like we needed to create some more mature competition there,” Guy said.
The Aggies also inked California quarterback Diondre Borel (6-1, 175) from Freedom High School.
One of the strengths of this year’s class, according to Guy, was the offensive linemen.
Two of the offensive lineman coming to USU weigh more than 300 pounds. Logan High product Tanner Richins weighs in at 310 while Carlos Cuevas out of Plano, Texas, hits the scales at 315 pounds.
Not only is Guy pleased with the football talent of the new recruits. He said he is also happy that the players’ average test scores and GPA are above average.
“The other thing that I am proud of, the basic NCAA requirements are a 2.5 core GPA. That’s not cumulative; that’s core. It’s a 2.5. The score that you need on the ACT is a 17, and the average score on the SAT is an 820. This class averaged a 2.8 in our core, 23 on the ACT and 925 on our SAT. So not only are we recruiting the best athletes that we can, we are getting quality students, and we are happy about that,” Guy said.
Guy also said the success of Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference helped in recruiting but not as much as the fact that the football facilities are being upgraded.
“The biggest thing for us was the new facility. Every recruit and parent that was here and saw the facility made comments or was impressed at the commitment being made by the alumni and the students,” he said.
Asked about how having a 1-11 record last year affected recruiting, Guy said it wasn’t an issue because most kids are looking toward the future on how they will contribute to the program.
“Every year that we have been here we have been able to upgrade and get better,” he said.
-samabry@cc.usu.edu