And despite the coaching change for USU, pretty much every recruit without family ties to members of the Wisconsin coaching staff held true to their commitment to Utah State.
Maybe above all else though, this recruiting class looks to contain a lot more players highly-recruited than we've seen in years' past. Rather than beating out upper-level FCS teams and bottom-tier non-BCS schools for recruits, the Aggies won a handful of recruiting battles against upper-level Mountain West schools and even some quality BCS conference programs.
THE RECRUITS
If you've followed this at all, you're probably pretty up to speed on the names of everyone joining the program.
If not, here's the official list from Utah State Athletics: OFFICIAL SIGNING LIST
Or if you want a list including some other players who are known to have verbally committed, but either have not yet signed, or are headed straight to missions, USUfans.com has another detailed list with some more key names on it: USUfans SIGNING/COMMIT LIST
KEY POSITIONS
This time last year, myself and plenty others were left wondering a few things come signing day, namely why certain positions weren't being recruited more, while others seemed to have an absurd amount of guys at those positions. Then we went 11-2 and everything worked out just fine, so this year I'm just going to keep it all positive.
Rather than break down every individual recruit, let's touch on some key positions that I'm feeling good about.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Things were great at the top for the O-line last year, with arguably the two best offensive linemen in the WAC in Eric Schultz and Tyler Larsen, while Jamie Markosian wasn't far behind. Depth was much more of an issue, perhaps not evidenced any better than in what Wisconsin's defensive ends did to Kevin Whimpey. And while the protection on the blind side got better throughout the year, the lack of other viable options to plug in there was a concern.
Returning all five starters for 2013 is a huge plus, but four of them will be seniors, meaning the pressure will soon be heavily on a lot of these young guys. Joe Malanga and Tyshon Mosely are the two who seemed to garner the most attention in the recruiting scene, with each receiving plenty of interest from some PAC-12 teams. Cody Boyer, Andrew Chen, and Brandon Taukeiaho each should have the potential to step up and make a name for themselves too.
This is a spot that needs a few of these young guys, as well as guys from last year's signing class to really make an impact in practice this year to give coaches some confidence to plug them right in come 2014.
WIDE RECEIVER
With Matt Austin and Chuck Jacobs gone, the team badly needed to fill those voids. Guys like Travis Reynolds, Travis Van Leeuwen, and Jojo Natson will all be counted on to step up, but to completely fill the roles of Austin and Jacobs is a hell of a lot to handle.
Both Ryan Watson and Ronald Butler could be big time players next season, so the quick solution to things is with those two. As far as the future is concerned, Hayden Weichers has blazing speed that could see him eventually filling a similar deep-threat role that we saw in Jacobs the last two years. Tyler Fox is an all-around good athlete as well, who could easily be another player much like Reynolds.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Will Davis, McKade Brady, and Terrence Alston were all regulars in the defensive backfield last season. Jumanne Robertson also graduates, while Quinton Byrd's status isn't 100 percent clear for next season. Regardless, these positions needed a little bit of experience brought into the mix, but also some trust put into the younger guys on the roster (looking at you Rashard Stewart, Ladale Jackson, and Devin Centers).
Adding two junior college defensive backs in Marwin Evans and Jeremy Morris is big, and if I'm taking guesses, Evans will be opening the season at free safety. Morris should fill right in for Alston as the nickle corner, with Devonte Glover-Wright expected to fill the shoes of Willy-D. \
Myron Turner is a guy who could turn out a whole lot better than anyone expected given his recruiting situation. Often times, once a player commits somewhere like he did to Washington State, the media attention stops on any national level. Stay tuned with him. As for Zach Swenson, he's got a big body already, and after a couple years of spreading the good word he should be nice and mature to make an impact in the future for this team.
TIGHT END
Short and sweet on this one... Both Wyatt Houston and Dax Raymond have great size, and appear to have great all-around ability. One comes here right away, one goes off on a mission to spread their eligibility out. Tight end has become a pretty crucial position for this offense, so to keep on bringing in guys with good size for blocking and plenty of pass catching ability, that's huge!
SUMMARY
Plenty of other potential stars in this mix, not to mention guys who didn't immediately sign who are also heading on missions with the intention of coming here upon their return.
Two big things to remember from here...
1. There are sure to be another later signing or two in the coming months. Signing day is just the beginning of the period, so not every recruit signs on this day.
2. Finding under-the-radar walk-on talent has been critical to the rise of USU football, so don't underestimate new guys you see on the roster next August who weren't announced today.
Probably going to talk a lot more about the signing on The Front Row Show later tonight, so keep an eye out for that come Thursday morning!
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