Heroes get remembered, but legends never die!!! Turbin is going pro.

Once upon a time, Robert Turbin said in an interview that a big part of the reason he chose to come to Utah State was because he wanted to be the kind of guy who helped turn a program around. There were plenty of other places he could have gone, but despite even the lowest of lows for the USU football around that time, Turbin still came to be an Aggie.

 Five years later, "Mission accomplished" might be the most fitting way to describe the career of No. 6 at Utah State.

In the season prior to Turbin's first year at USU, the football program bottomed out. The Aggies won just one game all season and lost by an average of nearly 28 points per game. There was essentially zero appeal or excitement surrounding the program.

Yet here we are five years later, having powered through two season-ending injuries, three incredible years of football and more big plays made than you can count to see Utah State as a winning program. The collective attitudes of coaches, players and fans in Logan is a night-and-day comparison from where things were in 2006 before Turbin came here.

Casual fans and die-hards alike have had that explosive superstar offensive player to watch for in Turbin over the past four years. He's been the guy to always allow USU fans to say, "I told you so," when others questioned whether or not Utah State football should be taken seriously.

But even off the field, he's been the kind of guy that could relate to the struggles and frustrations that come with football, most notably with the torn ACL that kept him out of the 2010 season. His attitude and work-ethic through that injury was the same type of mentality that a lot of Aggie fans needed to keep over the years in hopes of things truly turning around at Utah State. And turn around is exactly what things have done.

While anybody would have loved to see No. 6 wear an Aggie uniform for one more season, you can't help but be happy for the guy to be in the position like he's in to succeed. He's earned this chance to take the next step, and after a stellar season to prove he's fully recovered from his knee injury, it's the smart move for him.

He's as great of a person as he is a football player, and I'm thrilled to have had the chance to go to school with him, watch him play, interview and write stories on him... Everything.

And while he's the only guy who is making the jump early, I'd be a horrible person to exclude the other guys out there who have been crucial in helping Turbin turn the Utah State program around. Bobby Wagner, Diondre Borel, Kyle Gallagher, Stanley Morrison, Michael Smith, Levi Koskan, Quinn Garner, Curtis Marsh, Chris Randle, Rajric Coleman, James Brindley and Derrvin Speight, to name a few. Every one of these guys deserves a huge piece of the credit for building up the Utah State program to where it is and where it's headed.

When I say that legends never die, it's because these guys have created a new culture for Utah State football. One that will get each of these guys remembered, but pulling Utah State football out of a hole the program had been stuck in for decades will be a thing of legend.

For Robert Turbin, it was one hell of a pleasure to know you and watch you play. Thank you for everything you've done for Utah State. Best of luck in the NFL!!!