Aggies come out swinging, win 34-3

Not that many of us really thought it would ever be a game, but the Aggies silenced the Thunderbirds pretty handily from the start Thursday night at Romney Stadium. The thunder song from the movie Ted summarizes tonight fairly well (warning, bad words and decent humor in that link)!! Let's compare the first three drives for both Southern Utah and Utah State...

Southern Utah
3 plays, 4 yards - punt
3 plays, 0 yards - punt
3 plays, 5 yards - punt

Utah State
11 plays, 97 yards - touchdown
3 plays, 45 yards - touchdown
9 plays, 98 yards - touchdown

I mean, I guess if we're reaching for positives for SUU, their punter did a great job of pinning the Aggies deep, but it really didn't matter with USU's first unit in there. And the whole game saw a lot of USU's guys from the two-deep getting some serious reps out there.

The Next-Level Aggie FAN Preview - A Game Day Guide

Part 4 of 4: The Fans

Technically this is part four of the preseason preview, but for today there won't be any vibes, just a simple framework that, if followed, will produce excellence. This guide is and will be everything you need it to be in order to make a our home-field advantage at Romney Stadium something that has legitimate and major impact on every game. If everyone can get on board with these simple philosophies, Logan can become a place that strikes fear into opposing football teams much like it has for basketball teams for years now.

You see, there's four phases to a great football team. Offense, defense, special teams, and FANS!! Every one of those can be game-changers, and while 3/4ths of those are out of the fan's control, that fourth phase sits entirely in the hands of those of us in the crowd

So let's break this down bit by bit!

1: WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE'VE BEEN

Think back to where we were six years ago... Getting our asses kicked up and down the field, no players to really get excited about, barely winning a single game... It was horrible. The idea of a even a winning season seemed like an impossibility, let alone being viewed as a respectable and up-and-coming college football program.

Preseason Previews and Vibes, Part 3: Defense

Part 3 of 4: Defense

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Even with all the crappy rule adjustments in this era of football that make it practically illegal to hit quarterbacks or play pass defense, you still need a great defensive unit to go places.

Luckily for USU, it looks like we finally have exactly that! We knew it was only a matter of time with Gary Andersen at the helm, and the last two years have shown flashes of being great, but I think this year is where they finally take the next step. With the tenacity shown by past defenses under Andersen, coupled now with what looks to be a great complimentary philosophy of creating turnovers brought on by Dave Aranda, this defense should be the best USU has seen in a long time!

So let's break it down...

DEFENSIVE LINE
How this unit performs is about as essential as anything to this team in my book. Connor Williams is ready for prime time after two quality years of backing up Quinn Garner and Levi Koskan. And on the opposite side of Williams is Al Lapuaho, sliding over from the tackle spot to get rough on the outside. His attitude is the kind that seemed to get into opposing players' heads last year, and even if he lost his cool a few times too, his mean streak will be great to have out there. B.J. Larsen and Jordan Nielsen should get plenty of run there too.

The tackle position is a lot less clear cut. Travis Seefeldt opened camp as the projected starter, with Havea Lasike and Elvis Kamana-Matagi right up there with him. A duo of Snow College guys should be in the mix too with Sini Tauauve'a and AJ Pataialii, both were somewhat of unexpected additions to the team going into camp, but bring great size to the table.

Tuesday Linkathon: 8/28

Later today I'll be busting out my preview for USU's defense, but since the sports media world is officially on its game, it's time to spread the love once again!

So let's get to some links from around the USU sports world...

•  Tony Jones has been killin it over at the Salt Lake Tribune with football coverage. He talks about Kerwynn Williams and the running game this year, Robert Marshall coming back from injury and even a little bit of recruiting news.
• Don't forget about basketball though, where Tony Jones has been on top of a little bit of recruiting news too. One previous recruit, once thought to be lost, has made his way back and is pretty stoked about it. Tony also has details on the first commit for the 2014 basketball recruiting class.
• Shawn Harrison offers some predictions on this football season over at The Herald Journal
• Tim Olsen is unleashing a flurry of previews for Cache Valley Daily. So far he's talked about the offensive line, the defensive line and now the linebackers. If you want to learned all about these 2012 Aggies, Tim seems to be going all out with things so go read up.
• Curtis Lundstrom, repping The Utah Statesman, talks about the recent revamping of the HURD.
• Kraig Williams previews some aspirations that this team has over at The Deseret News.
• Matt Sonnenberg (whoever that is) takes a stab at some real journalism on behalf of USU athletics, covering the impending clash between the Larsen brothers.

That's all for now! Might update some more later if I stumble across something. In the meantime, I'll be cranking out a preview for the USU defense.

Preseason Previews and Vibes, Part 2: Offense

Part 2 of 4: Offense

Moving on with the preview, you may notice that this preview has changed from a three-part series to four. That's because there's more to making a great football team than just offense, defense and special teams. What is that fourth aspect? Well, if you don't know already, you'll find out by Wednesday at the latest. For now though, let's preview the offense.

QUARTERBACKS
It took Brent Guy 34 games before he got to five wins at USU... Adam Kennedy pretty much started out 5-0, and he's going to be the backup this season. Got your head wrapped around that?

Chuckie Keeton showed how good he was throughout plenty of the first half of last season before getting injured, where Kennedy stepped in and kept things going as strong as ever. Now, with a full offseason of work and a new offensive coordinator who looks like he's open to actually throwing downfield, Keeton looks ready to dominate. Really both guys look like they could be all-WAC quarterbacks this year, but Keeton has the edge, and if you're beating out a potential all-WAC guy for a starting job, you're probably doing something right.

Preseason vibe: Stoked as hell, with maybe a sprinkle of all-time great status about to happen

So... Marvin Jean after all?

I can't remember a more confusing recruitment for USU basketball in recent memory than this one, but it looks like it'll have a happy ending after all!

Tony Jones is reporting that Marvin Jean looks like he will indeed play for the Aggies this year, now coming as a walk-on to the team.

This is the most recent swing in this whole saga, and hopefully the last twist. Things all started with rumors of USU's interest in Jean this past spring, followed by Jean spilling the beans on Twitter that he'd committed to USU. That was followed up with conflicting reports stating that the USU coaches hadn't yet made a formal offer. Whether that's exactly the case, we'll probably never know. They could have had the offer out there, but for the sake of controlling the news, didn't want that news out there just yet.

Without presuming any more about the chronology of things back then, Jean did indeed end up with a scholarship offer, which he accepted.

Then, earlier this month, after a summer of workouts with the team, it appeared that Jean wasn't going to qualify academically because of a junior college class holding him up.

And here we are today, with things apparently having been cleared up, and Jean now walking-on. His re-addition to the team adds some serious athleticism to the wings for this season, and should make it an easy choice to redshirt both Quincy Bair and Riley Bradshaw, which will serve both of them well in the future.

Preseason Previews and Vibes, Part 1: Special Teams

Chuck Jacobs, alone in the end zone, with people behind him = Touchdowns

Part 1 of 4: Special Teams

Alright kids, it's officially game week, so let's get down to previewing this bad boy!

First up is special teams, which once again doesn't look to be anything too special.

COVERAGE
In theory, this year could see an improvement in the kick and punt coverage teams. As the talent level of the program has continued upward, the guys assigned to special teams should perform better than previous years as well. Between the linebacker and cornerback positions alone, there are 30 guys on the roster, leaving plenty of guys outside of the two-deep that you would hope are hungry enough for snaps that they'll want to make an impact on special teams. There are also a handful of young offensive linemen who could make a splash here.

Main point being though, there are quality starters and quality depth at most positions and only so many snaps to go around. There are also plenty of younger guys who will have a chance to make some big plays on special teams this year. Given the mentality that seems to be around this team now, I'm guessing we'll see a solid improvement in this area over the last few years.

Preseason vibe: Optimistic

10 crucial Aggies: No. 1 - Matt Wells

When news broke this winter that Dave Baldwin would not return as USU's offensive coordinator, not many Aggie fans were terribly upset. As good as Baldwin's offenses were able to produce at times, the most consistent aspect of his coaching was that the offense would disappear in the fourth quarter of games.

Aside from even that though, Baldwin struggled to adjust his strategies mid-game, and often times seemed to never want to give the ball to a certain guy now playing for the Seattle Seahawks (not Bobby Wagner, smart asses).

Baldwin is out. Matt Wells is in.

Now the task falls on Wells to the elements of what Baldwin did well, while recognizing where things went wrong and rectifying those holes in things. Based on how well Wells did in year one as a quarterbacks coach, helping groom both Chuckie Keeton and Adam Kennedy to stardom, he seems like a guy that really gets it.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 2 - the defensive line

When new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda came on board, one of his main priorities was to have a defense that force turnovers. Last year's defense only came up with 15 total turnovers, and only four of those were via interceptions. As a team, USU was -9 in turnovers, which makes last season's success all the more impressive.

When it comes to forcing turnovers, things all start with the defensive line. Really when it comes to defense as a whole, things all start with the defensive line.

Early in fall camp, Gary Andersen more or less ripped the D-line for their play. It wasn't long after that though that Andersen started praising them for their progress made, enough so that it looked like we just might have a solid unit on our hands here.

Long-time starters Quinn Garner and Levi Koskan are gone, while Bojay Filimoeatu looks to stay at outside linebacker this season. Last season's go-to nose tackle Al Lapuaho is sliding over the defensive end, while Connor Williams returns as the lone returner of last season's two-deep at defensive end.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 3 - Tavaris McMillian

It seems like a yearly tradition at this point for USU to have a freshman linebacker step into the college game and waste no time making a major impact.

For example...

2005: Jake Hutton
2006: Paul Igboeli
2007: Kyle Gallagher
2008: Bobby Wagner
2009: C-c-c-c-c-combo breaker!!!
2010: Jake Doughty
2011: Tavaris McMillian

And with the Kyler Fackrell hype machine running at full speed, it looks like he'll take care of 2012's entry on this list, making it seven of the last eight years a freshman linebacker was an impact player. But before we crown his ass, let's keep things within context of the sure things...

The bar for excellence here was obviously set by Wagner. Nobody in their right mind will dispute that. He was the cornerstone for USU's defense for the last three years as he earned first-team all-conference honors in each of those seasons (which will now be termed "Pulling a Wagner", formerly known as "Pulling a Harris" and possibly known in the future as "Pulling a Medlin")

Here's my prediction though: Of all the guys on that list from 2005 to 2011, McMillian will come the closest to having the impact that Wagner did. As a freshman last year, T-16 tied for the sixth most tackles on the team and was behind only Wagner, Levi Koskan and Bojay Filimoeatu in tackles for loss with 7.5. He finished the year strong too with 17 total tackles and four TFLs over the team's final three games.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 4 - Matt Austin

As awesome as Chuckie Keeton has looked in camp, and as much potential Kellen Bartlett has as a receiving tight end, no single offensive player has the impact potential for this season quite like Matt Austin. With the importance the passing game will have this season, Austin needs to elevate his game even further and be the dominant offensive threat that most of us believe he's capable of.

What makes Austin great starts and ends with his hands. Trying to compare Austin's ability to catch the football to anyone else is pretty much meaningless. It's been a long time since seeing anyone with his hands come through USU, and it'll likely be a long time before we see hands this good.

But the hands are just part of it. When you get down to the rest of Austin's ability, his other skills are also among the best to come through USU in a while. He's fast, runs crisp routes and is a very good blocking wide receiver. He's about as complete a package as you can get in a wideout.

Depth isn't much of a concern with guys like Chuck Jacobs, Travis Van Leeuwen, Travis Reynolds, Cam Webb, Jojo Natson, etc... Austin needs to be head and shoulders above the rest though. A wideout that can be counted on to be open on almost every play and who can turn a desperate throw by the quarterback into a big play is something every team desires, but few teams really have.

A season of something in the range of 70+ receptions from Austin would mean this offense was getting it done in a big way. Coverages will be focused on him regardless, so the more pressure he can take off the run game and his fellow receivers, the better. And if the offense gets it done in a big way this season, especially with how great the defense has looked in camp, this could turn out to be one hell of a season!

One last scrimmage before it all begins

It wasn't a full-contact scrimmage by any means, but it was close for the most part. Outside of giving defensive players a green-light to light up some of the offensive superstars, the team was going full speed on Saturday afternoon. Receivers still had to work to get open, linemen still had to open holes for running backs and protection for the quarterbacks was still essential for any play to come to fruition.

If there's a single story for this scrimmage, it's that the defense was absolutely dominant! They are fast, instinctive and fly to the ball in swarms. For anyone who remembers watching those Gary Andersen-run defenses at Utah a few years back, this Utah State defense is starting to really resemble that same style. It's really just a total treat to watch.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 5 - the kicker (whoever that ends up being)

Horray for this guy!! Scholarship maybe?

USU kickers hit on just 6-of-11 field goal attempts last season, with the longest conversion coming from just 43 yards out. To put it plainly, the kicking game has somewhat handicapped Utah State's offense in recent memory. No distance is a safe distance when it comes to field goal attempts, leaving the offense to take some chances on 4th down rather than take an easy three points.

Now, if it's a something like 4th and 2, I say nut up and go for it. Especially with a mobile quarterback and a solid run game. But when it comes to something like a 4th-and-8, being able to rely on still getting three points out of a drive is a huge asset.

As we saw during the last week though, the kicking game isn't still where anyone feels comfortable with it. Josh Thompson, who did the bulk of the kicking last year, looks to be about where he's always been. He hit on 6-of-10 attempts last year, but was just 2-of-5 from 30-39 yards out. Impressively he hit on both attempts he took from 40-49, but those still are not numbers to strike fear into any opposition.

Jacob Haueter still has the same booming leg he showed off last year, and likely will be the man for kickoffs once again. His accuracy on field goals just isn't there.

Nick Diaz seems like a happy medium between Thompson and Haueter, but a happy medium between two guys who have struggled to get the job done is a less-than-encouraging place to be.

Then there's the wildcard... The kicking game looked like it might have a new favorite in a freshman Brock Warren. In several practices Warren stood out above the rest of the kickers, showing off solid accuracy and kicking power that was probably just a touch below Haueter's. A few very good practices are an encouraging start for the rookie, and if he can keep that going into the season, this team just might be ok in kicking after all.

Regardless, the importance of this position should not be understated at all. Especially without a bruising runner like Robert Turbin, the kicking game becomes that much more crucial when drives get stuffed deep in opposing territory. If one of these guys can step up and at least be consistent from within 45 yards, that changes everything!

Even just a 75 percent average would a godsend at this point. 

Breaking down Wednesday's scrimmage

Adam Kennedy played solid, but Chuckie Keeton fully tore it up, making
Kennedy's window that much smaller.

The lights were on at Romney Stadium Wednesday night for what will be the final major scrimmage of this 2012 fall camp. A solid crowd turned out to see what will likely have been the final chance for a lot of guys to solidify their places on the depth chart going into the start of the season.

As has been the case throughout camp, a handful of guys saw very few, if any reps. Guys like Kerwynn Williams, Matt Austin, Chuck Jacobs, McKade Brady and Tavaris McMillian are among them, giving chances for a lot of other guys to step up and make their case for playing time.

Let's jump right into the basics...

The first team offense was rolling tonight, gaining yards with relative ease against what looked to be a mix of first and second team defensive players. It's tough to really tell the impact of all that from either standpoint, with a lot of the offensive superstars being held out and not all of the first team defense playing together. For what it's worth, it's encouraging to see the offense moving the ball, regardless of who it is against. For the bulk of camp, the defense has been looking absolutely stellar, so to see the offense start coming together a little better is encouraging.

Chuckie Keeton was pretty excellent for this scrimmage, as he has been for most of camp and all of spring ball a few months back. Adam Kennedy is still solid, and he should still see plenty of snaps this season, but Keeton was a solid step above tonight.

Outside of one guy, the run game wasn't to be stoked on, but that was all without Williams taking snaps, and we know he's going to produce.

The receivers had a lot of that same thing going on, with two guys really looking solid out there, but everyone else leaving a lot to be desired. But keep in mind, Austin and Jacobs weren't in that mix, leaving the guys deeper on the depth chart going against first team cornerbacks.

Speaking of the cornerbacks, they look awesome. The fact that Willie Davis is listed as the Dime cornerback is astonishing, and says a lot about the other guys ahead of him. Davis made a handful of clutch plays in limited reps last season and looks to be solidly improved this camp, standing out several times with good coverage downfield. Back there with them, the safeties look just fine.

Let's just break the rest down by positives and negatives though.

POSITIVES

Cam Webb -  Dude absolutely KILLED it!!! He finished with eight catches for 101 yards and was just all over the place making plays. Outside of him and Travis Reynolds at times, it seemed like nobody else could get open, and Webb did it at will. He took a hard hit on a screen pass late in the scrimmage and appeared to be shaken up pretty badly, which is a major bummer to finish off his night. If I were taking a guess, I'd say it was a concussion, and you never know how that'll linger. Hopefully not long, because tonight Webb looked like he could be an impact player for the offense.

Joe Hill - With the top spot at running back locked up, Hill has separated himself from the rest of the bunch to get a lockdown at the No. 2 running back spot. Tonight made it obvious as to why. Hill was finding holes, hitting them hard and racking up yards on the ground. He accelerates to full speed in almost no time, and his top speed makes him almost impossible to catch from behind. He's not the strongest of runners, but he's also young. As it stands, Hill looks like he'll be a solid replacement to Michael Smith in the role of super-speedy No. 2 running back.

Defense - I wanted to pinpoint a specific area of the defense because it seemed every different area performed well enough to earn individual mention. The line got solid push and put some real pressure on the quarterbacks. The linebackers were flying all over, making plays everywhere and adding to the pressure of the quarterbacks. And the defensive backs were basically shutdown on every receiver not named Cam Webb. The offense still got theirs at times, but that's going to happen regardless. The defense made everything difficult on them.


NEGATIVES

Punt returns - Calling that part of the scrimmage anything less than a shit-show is giving them a bit too much credit. If the guy returning the punt actually managed avoid muffing the catch, which was rare, guys were running backwards way too often trying to burn the defenders around the edges. That didn't really work for anyone at all. Credit to the punt coverage team I guess, but the returners did the coverage guys plenty of favors. It brought back a nightmare or two from the Colorado State game, and that's just an awful awful thing to reminisce on.

Running backs NOT named Joe Hill - Outside of a couple decent runs by Abou Toure, the running backs behind Hill didn't really do the offense any favors. Inexperience might play a factor in that, seeing as how Williams and Hill are really the only two healthy backs who have been around a while. You've got to hope though that as guys like Kelvin Lee, Ladale Jackson and Toure get their feet wet, that they will step things up and add more quality depth. When Joey DeMartino and Robert Marshall get healthy again, the depth will get a big boost, but let's hope that some of those other guys can take a giant leap forward or two in the meantime.

Kicking - Damn this theme of special teams not doing all that great... The kicking game is still just wildly inconsistent, much like it has been for what seems like forever. If this results in going for it on fourth down a lot rather than attempting a long field goal, that might not be the worst thing in the world. At this point it certainly looks like it'll be a better option than trying to kick anything from deeper than about 45 yards.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 6 - Nevin Lawson

For two years now, Nevin Lawson has been on the verge of superstardom. His athleticism and skill as a cover corner are the best to come through the Utah State program in years, and he's shown flashes of putting that all together plenty of times thus far in his career.

The dark side of the though is that with the way football is officiated these days, playing defense on opposing receivers downfield practically seems disallowed. And nobody has been victimized by this more than Lawson. With an ability to stick all over opposing receivers, Lawson is often in a position to prevent big plays and create turnovers. He also often gets flagged for pass interference when sticking too closely on receivers, which is what he needs to avoid this season.

Lawson can undoubtedly be a true shutdown corner, to go along with being a great tackler and all-around defender, evidenced by finishing fourth on the team with 73 tackles last season. He needs to be able to operate and stick to receivers with just a bit of a cushion this year though to keep from getting flagged.

He also will be monumentally crucial when Utah State travels to play Louisiana Tech and preseason WAC Offensive Player of the Year, Quinton Patton. Shutting down the top receiving threat in the conference could mean a WAC championship for the Aggies. And Lawson, possibly more than any other player, can be the game-changer there when the WAC's top two teams meet.

If Lawson does find that balance of maintaining his crazy cover skills, while keeping a slight buffer on receivers and recognizing when to turn around to make a play on the ball, a handful of forced passes should end up in his hands this year. And while the offense should still be very good, weapons like Robert Turbin, Michael Smith and Stanley Morrison all have moved on, so any turnovers created by the defense are one more chance for the offense to rack up the points.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 7 - left side of the offensive line

The trio of Tyler Larsen, Eric Schultz and Oscar Molina-Sanchez are entering their third season as starters together on the offensive line. But as strong and experienced as those three guys are, plenty of the offense hangs on the players who win the position battles on the left side of the line.


Between blazing trails for Kerwynn Williams and protecting the quarterbacks in the pocket, the pressure is on pretty heavily for two guys who really are still to be determined. The preseason depth chart lists Jamie Markosian as the starter at left guard, which should really surprise nobody given the high-praise he's received from coaches over the past two years. He's continued to bulk up along the way and based on how he's looked so far in camp, appears ready for prime time.

Left tackle is a bit more of a question mark with Kevin Whimpey and Logan Molohifo'ou pushing each other for a starting role. What really complicates things is that they are both quite a bit different from one another. Whimpey, along with his brother Kyle, have earned mild internet fame based on their mind-blowing strength displayed in offseason workouts. The question of lateral movement is what hangs over his head though.

Molohifo'ou is a totally different story, possessing excellent athleticism to go along with great size for an offensive lineman. He's only a freshman, and looks to have superstar potential as he adds more muscle to his frame, but Whimpey already has that muscle and then some.

Having someone step up and put a stranglehold on each spot on the left side is crucial though. A little bit of depth wouldn't hurt either, seeing as how Markosian has been slotted as the backup center each of the last two seasons behind Tyler Larsen. Schultz has been thrown into the mix as a possible emergency center too, but let's hope it never has to be anyone but Larsen snapping the football.

One also has to hope if the coaching staff is going to stack each one of last season's starting tackles together on one side of the line, that they feel plenty comfortable in the guys filling the spot on the left side. With some strong play from those guys stepping in, the offense should be able to easily maintain a high level of play again this season.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 8 - Brian Suite

Much like Kellen Bartlett, Brian Suite looked to be a major player for the Aggies last season until injuries derailed things. Back in 2010, Suite was arguably THE prize of that year's recruiting class, and after a redshirt year, looked primed for a big role in 2011. But injury hit him after drawing rave reviews from coaches throughout spring practices more than a year ago.

With Walter McClenton and Alfred Bowden gone from the defensive backfield though, now it's crucial that Suite can stay healthy. And if the praise he has earned in practices during his first two seasons here weren't enough to convince people of what he can bring to the table, he's already shown off tons of talent in the first week of practices.

With excellent height and solid athleticism to go along with what appear to be excellent instincts and a general nose for the ball, Suite looks to have "superstar" written all over him. His health has been the concern all along, but if he manages to keep on the field, he'll play a major role in making sure opposing offenses aren't out there for long.

With McKade Brady moving to free safety, one has to assume the coaching staff views Suite as more than capable of Brady's shoes as a run-stuffer. If there was any knock on Brady last season, it's that he sometimes got mixed up in reading run vs. pass, enough so to let defenders get behind him. Brady was tremendous against the run, and likely will still be that from the other safety spot. If he's able to focus primarily on not allowing the deep ball rather than having to adjust on the fly, he and Suite should make for a dominant combo at the safety positions.

Obviously it sounds like I've talked up Brady to be crucial too, and he is. But Suite still has something to prove and all the capability to do so. The better Suite performs, the more freedom Brady has to play back and ideally make a handful of major plays from the defensive backfield. So it's definitely a team effort, but Suite looks primed for a major breakout season.

No Marvin Jean after all...

In case you missed it, Tony Jones broke news late Tuesday about one of those moments that just kinda makes you sit back in your chair and think, "Well, shit...."

Marvin Jean is a no go because of some academic qualifying issues. As it is, he could technically redshirt while he finishes whatever junior college courses he needs to finish, but I doubt anyone is counting on that happening. As it was, Jean had an uphill battle for minutes in front of him. With Spencer Butterfield, Danny Berger and Jean all competing for minutes at small forward, as well as any rare times when Pre-Med comes off the floor, there was very little to go around. Couple that with the fact that Jean's largely unimpressive JUCO numbers aren't much encouraging to pit against a returning starter and California JUCO co-Player of the Year.

Still, Jean looked like a solid player in the making. JUCO statistics aside, watching him on video he looked like a player who was willing to play within a controlled and structured system. With his athleticism that might have been the best any of this year's wings had to offer, Jean could definitely brought plenty to the table.

In the bigger picture, the team will probably be fine. Either one of Riley Bradshaw or Quincy Bair just became a lot less likely to redshirt this season. And while neither is likely to have the immediate impact that Jean would have had, Stew Morrill's teams never really go beyond three-deep on the wings. Medlin, Berger and Butterfield will hold things down quite nicely.

My personal take? Stick to redshirting Bradshaw and Bair. There are so many minutes to be had for these guys down the road and a redshirt year does wonders for anyone. Why waste this season on what would be sparse minutes anyway? If dire situation comes up where a fourth wing is needed, Kyisean Reed can and should be that guy. 

With a scholarship opening up for next year, chalk this guy up as a supporter of offering Tanner Lancona right freaking now! Obviously the coaching staff will do what they gotta do here, and it'll probably end up being the right choice, but it seems like one more freshman big man could set the program's future up nicely in the front court with Jalen Moore and Carson Shanks coming in next year.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 9 - Kellen Bartlett

In last season's run-heavy offense, the tight ends were used primarily as extra offensive linemen to blast open holes for the Aggies' stellar run game. While D.J. Tialavea and Tarren Lloyd only combined for 19 catches, 173 yards and three touchdowns, they were a dominant blocking duo and crucial in helping make the run game operate at a high level.

This year is a different story though with the offense looking to lean much more heavily on throwing the football. With that, a receiving threat from the tight end position is crucial, and there's nobody more primed to be that guy than Kellen Bartlett.

After missing all of last season with an injury, the team gets back probably the best pass-catching tight end to play at USU since Chris Cooley. Bartlett only caught 15 passes for 222 yards as a junior in 2010, but he showed flashes of excellence throughout that year, enough so to generate some serious hype before last season.

Sadly though, injury derailed that, and while Tailavea and Lloyd were great in their roles, neither are near the pass-catching threat that Bartlett can be.

If he's able to bounce back to what he was, especially with the better passers that USU has under center these days, Bartlett should have a monster year. The playmaking ability of the wide receivers is monumentally crucial to this season too, but having a great tight end to dump off short passes to can really give the offense versatility it needs in the passing game.

10 crucial Aggies: No. 10 - Chuckie Keeton

Now, you might be asking yourself, "How in the hell is the projected starting quarterback only 10th on the list of key guys needing to step up?"

The answer to that is a two-parter. One, Keeton already showed solid production as a freshman, so he's not too huge of a question mark. And two, the guy behind him is 4-1 as a starter, and that's not even counting the epic comeback at Hawaii that he helped lead. So in a sense, if somehow Keeton hit a major sophomore slump, Adam Kennedy has shown to be a superstar under center as well.

Still, this team needs Keeton to step his game up and become more of a threat to connect on some deep downfield passes, while improving his sense of when to take off running with the ball. As good as Kerwynn Williams will be this year to balance the run game, the aerial attack will be a much more essential part to this year's offense. If Keeton is going to be the starter, which seems to have been the indication all offseason, he needs to be able to do what Kennedy could in throwing downfield and making big plays in the clutch.

If this past spring was any indication, Keeton is indeed ready to take things to the next level. After generating all sorts of hype throughout spring practices on Twitter and USUfans.com, Keeton lived up to all the hype in the spring game by putting on a dazzling passing display, very much outplaying Kennedy in the process (which is hard for this guy to have to admit, because I'm a huge AFK fan!)

Now it's just a matter of Keeton maintaining that production when the season rolls around, and if he does, that's really going to suck for opposing defenses.

10 Aggies most crucial to this football season

A year ago, Utah State football had a handful of sure things with the likes of Michael Smith, Robert Turbin, Bobby Wagner, Kyle Gallagher, Levi Koskan and Quinn Garner. Solid players at a handful of positions that could step up and be game-changers at any time.

All those guys are gone now, and while there is arguably more quality depth across the board, the team needs some new superstars to step up. With some of the hype generated by recent recruits though, the personnel should be there for plenty of new guys to make some great things happen.

Who those guys end up being is the big question though. Whether it's an unknown guy coming out of nowhere and taking the team by storm, or a guy who showed flashes of brilliance last year taking a massive leap forward, there are certain pieces that need to fall into place for USU to have its first back-to-back bowl seasons half a century.

Over the next two weeks, the countdown of the top 10 guys most crucial to that sustained success are going to be covered here. A selection criteria like there was for the Stew's top 20 countdown is out the window here. Now it's up to the twisted mind of a single writer to determine the list, so disagreement might run rampant, and maybe even there will end up being a guy or two left of the list who should have made it.

***SPOILER ALERT***
Kerwynn Williams will not be on this list, just to squash any suspense right now. K-dub is already well-established enough to know that he's going to perform well and hold down the running back position like a bad ass. He's arguably the surest thing on the team right now, and this list is about the guys more on the verge of greatness who need to realize it to for the team's sake this year.

It's gonna be a fun one.