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Plenty of preseason intrigue for this Aggie offense
If football is played this year, Utah State has plenty of interesting story-lines on their offense. Late season transfers, both incoming and outgoing, have fundamentally shifted the focus and identity of this offense. On top of that, the Aggies return plenty of experience in their receiver corps. Combined with having a new offensive coordinator, this side of the ball has the opportunity to flourish if the pieces can effectively come together.
Quarterback
To the surprise of just about everybody, the Aggies landed grad transfer Jason Shelley out of Utah. The signal-caller has two years of eligibility left and can start playing immediately.
He carved a name out for himself as the Utes’ starter in 2018 after starter Tyler Huntley went down for the season due to injury. Shelley played well, all things considered, scoring key victories against the Oregon, Colorado, and BYU as the starter. His efforts helped send the Utes to the PAC-12 championship game against Washington that year. T
hough the offensive wheels came off against the Huskies, Shelley finished the 2018 season throwing 1,162 yards for 5 TD and 6 INT while rushing 63 times for 192 yards and three scores.
Those are decent stats that can only stand to improve with more time to be groomed as the proper starter. He’s shown the ability to be elusive with his feet, so any extra dimension this offense can get is positive for Utah State. Considering how many times the Aggie offense stalled last year in third-and-short situation, an extra body the defense has to respect boosts this unit’s chances of success.
Depth is more precarious behind Shelley, however. With the departure of Henry Colombi to Texas Tech, an unmistakably big loss, the Aggies will need to rely on largely unproven backups in case Shelley needs relief. Returning from injury will be SO Andrew Peasley.
He showed tremendous promise with his legs early last season, but it’s unknown how well he can throw the ball. Playing in garbage time against Stony Brook doesn’t say much about how he can contribute this season. His injury against the Sea Wolves almost certainly hampered his progression, and redshirt freshmen Cooper Legas and Josh Calvin haven’t played at all.
Running Back
Utah State’s backfield is looking much better now than it was even just a couple of months ago. The Aggies received extremely welcome news with the addition of another graduate transfer in Devonta’e Henry-Cole. He looks to end his final year of eligibility on a high note and this offense may give him just what he needs. He originally signed with BYU, but had a change of heart late and received a release from his NLI.
At Utah, Henry-Cole put respectable numbers in a limited role. He rushed for 451 yards on 86 attempts in his last two seasons, including four touchdown runs. In a deep unit for the Utes, he managed to average over 5 yards per carry.
For the Aggies, Henry-Cole gives badly needed production for a unit that lacks depth behind SR Jaylen Warren. With an experienced teammate to help him out, Warren can reasonably split carries now and hopefully avoid any injuries that plagued him last year.
When healthy, Warren was a load to tackle in 2019 for opposing defenses. He rushed 112 times for 569 yards and five touchdowns, good for 5.1 yards per carry. Plus, he is on the preseason Doak Walker watch list for the best running back in the nation.
If Warren can avoid injury this go-around, the duo can easily carry the load on the ground while younger backs like FR John Gentry and FR Elelyon Noa find their footing. There will be plenty of touches for the older backs and it will help younger backs adjust to the system. Both Gentry and Noa are talented and have impressive offer lists, but they still need to crank out production when they can.
Wide Receiver
This part of the offense has high potential, though it hasn’t been met yet. SRs Jordan Nathan and Savon Scarver have talent and speed to spare, but they need to step up for this offense to be truly dynamic.
Scarver is a verifiable star on special teams and he has shown flashes in the passing game. Unfortunately, he hasn’t consistently been a threat against opposing defenses, which is a huge shame. He boasts an impressive five kickoff returns for touchdowns in his career, which is good for ninth-best in NCAA history. As a receiver, his numbers are good but not great. He caught just 24 passes for 271 yards in 2019. I want to see more out of him this year and elevate the team rather than just keep it afloat.
Nathan has been a more consistent pass-catching threat than Scarver. Last year, he tallied up a reasonably strong 56 catches for 581 yards and one touchdown. This number was good for second-best on the team. His skills as a punt returner are undeniable, and he’s certainly capable of being the best receiver on the team. If he wants to cement his legacy in Aggie blue and score more wins, shouldering more of the pass-catching load is a must.
Backing up the senior stars will be JR Deven Thompkins and JUCO transfer Justin McGriff. Thompkins showed his speed often and nabbed 40 receptions for 536 yards and four TDs last season. He’s extremely dangerous in the open field but struggles a bit more in coverage due to his smaller size.
McGriff is expected to fill the void left by Siaosi Mariner with his tall frame. Coming from ASA College in Florida, he’ll be playing immediately to help the Ags out in possession battles against defensive backs.
Tight End
There are a handful of known quantities in this group. Though Caleb Repp is gone, SR Carson Terrell will be well-prepared to take on a leadership role. The number of catches Terrell gets has stayed as consistent as his size and athleticism. He’s a big match-up problem against most defensive players and he’s proven to be a reliable pass-catcher in his limited opportunities. More catches from him can only help this offense since he’s only averaged 11 per year.
Behind Terrell, I expect SR Travis Boman and SO Bryce Mortenson to see playing time. Neither player has a lot of stats, but both have Terrell’s size and both are well-prepared to block more and grab a few more receptions.
Offensive Line
After a shaky and inconsistent 2019, this year’s line is ready to take a large step forward. The Aggies have the good fortune of returning every starter from last year’s line. SR Demytrick Ali’ifua returns at center, and he’s one of only two seniors on the line. The rest are mostly sophomores and juniors. Experience is in higher supply than it was last year.
JR Alfred Edwards returns at left tackle and SO Andy Koch should be good to reclaim his old spot at right tackle after an unfortunate season-ending injury vs San Diego State in 2019. Both players are big and extremely physical, so their good health is a load of good news for a unit that needs to be more consistent in 2020.
Across the guard positions, we should be seeing SO Karter Shaw and SO Heneli Bloomfield taking the bulk of the snaps. Behind them, SO Jacob South and SO Wade Meacham should be seeing more time than last year. It’s not out of the realm of possibility at all some of the younger linemen could take over at guard, either. There’s a lot of good competition here and the unit’s chemistry should be visibly improved over last year, too.
It’s unknown at this time if SR Ty Shaw will be returning to the team. If he doesn’t make it back, it would be the only negative spot on an otherwise sterling position group. If he does return, it might cement this group’s status as the deepest on the team.
