Utes are still an uphill battle for the Aggies

Poke your head around the internet. It seems like a whole lot of Utah State fans have got a win on Thursday for the Aggies written in ink. After an 11-2 season in 2012, returning a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, and a win over the Utes in the second game of last year, you can understand where that excitement is coming from.

If you ask me though, this is still an uphill fight for the Aggies. Here's why...

1. HISTORY
Not going to dive any further back than last year with the history of the series. Neither team's current state is at all reflective of where they were even just three years ago.

Post-training camp grades: Defense

Part 3 of 3: Defense

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships, yada yada yada...

Look at USU football in the Andersen/Wells era though. The offense was very good from the start back in 2009 with the likes of Robert Turbin, Diondre Borel, and Stanley Morrison racking up stellar numbers and putting up points. 2010 wasn't as great with the injuries to pretty much everyone who mattered. But in 2011, the offense was back at it.

As good as the offense was though, USU only racked up a combined record of 15-22 from 2009-11. Put in an elite defense, and the 2012 Aggies win 11 games and a WAC championship. No other evidence is really needed. So let's get at the grades after camp.

Post-training camp grades: Offense

Part 2 of 3: Offense

OFFENSIVE LINE
Where it all begins for the offense, and USU has five returning starters. This unit is anchored by a trio of stars in Jamie Markosian, Eric Schultz, and Tyler Larsen; all three guys earned all-WAC honors last season. Kyle and Kevin Whimpey took huge steps forward as the season rolled on in 2012, and while both might be better suited as interior linemen, Kevin still was solid enough at left tackle by season's end.
Depth is still a big question here, and I'm still crossing fingers that Kevin Whimpey can handle some of the bigger guns around the edge that the early part of the schedule will test him with, but there's no doubting the prowess of five returning starters.

Preseason grade: A-

Post-training camp grades: Special teams

Training camp is wrapped up and game week is upon us. There's a crazy amount of excitement going around, and why the hell not? But sometimes it's easy to get caught up in excitement when you see an impressive product in practice.

Seeing weaknesses and imperfections gets a little bit harder though. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and give an honest critique of what I've seen through camp and break down every position group and give them a preseason grade. So let's get at it!

Part 1 of 3: Special teams

KICKERS
This one worries me a little bit, simply because it seems that Nick Diaz hasn't solidified the job he had locked down to finish last season. Diaz was 10-of-13 last season with one blocked kick and two misses appearing to be centered, just without enough leg. He still hit 5-of-7 from beyond 40 yards, including a season-best 53-yarder.
Josh Thompson seems to always perform in practice, but has connected on just 10-of-16 field goals for his career, including only 8-of-14 from inside 40-yards. He's also missed two PATs in his career, which is concerning as to why Diaz hasn't been dubbed the clear-cut favorite. Younger brother Jake Thompson could very well be the guy for kickoff duties with his strong leg.
We've seen Diaz excel before and the job should remain his. The uncertainty hurts the grade for this position though.

Preseason grade: C+
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PUNTERS
The only name you need to know here is Jaron Bentrude. The job is his and he's looked solid in camp just like he did during spring practice. There's been a few flubs here and there, but his kicks have been booming at times. Now it's all about consistency.

Preseason grade: B
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KICK RETURNERS
This one is full of intrigue. A whole bunch of guys took reps in this role during camp and based on what I saw, I think this team has plenty of people capable of filling in for the fine job done here by Chuck Jacobs last season. The two I liked the most were Tay Glover-Wright and Travis Reynolds. We all know about Reynolds' athleticism and if he has room to run, he's a safe bet to produce.
Glover-Wright is who I like the most here though. Watching him run I feel like he has the potential to be the Devin Hester of the Mountain West Conference. His athleticism is just freaking ridiculous.
Kennedy Williams is one other X-factor here, and considering the success his brother had as a kick returner early in his career, it's not outlandish to think Kennedy could thrive too after the camp he's had.
Any of those three would be good bets, but I like The Hyphen best. Regardless, the outlook here seems bright.

Preseason grade: B+
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PUNT RETURNERS
Cam Webb was the perfect possession-oriented punt returner last season. With the right protection on punt returns, this season could see a higher average return than 8.8 yards from the team's go-to punt returner. This is another role where a handful of guys saw reps, but the three that stood out to me most were Jojo Natson, Travis Van Leeuwen, and Kennedy Williams. Van Leeuwen would be the safe bet kind of guy, much like Webb was, and that's not a bad thing at all. Natson and Williams are similar in that they accelerate quickly, have good speed, and crazy agility.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Natson, just because his hands seem more proven in catching the ball. Any of the three would do fine though.

Preseason grade: B-
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LONGSNAPPERS
This one is completely on lockdown by Nate Needham. Not really any question about things here either. Dude is solid all-around.

Preseason grade: A 

Separation starts showing in second scrimmage

Felt good to be back at the stadium watching the Aggies after a weekend getaway for this guy. Without being able to see the first scrimmage, I can't really speak to what improved since then, but I can comment on plenty more that I saw and liked.

So let's get right to it...

• Not that this was a secret to anybody, but Chuckie Keeton is good. He's really good. And he's getting better playing against this defense. He sees the field so much better than he did even a year ago, he adjusts to throws with defenders crashing in on him, and he still knows when to tuck it and run. He was spectacular on Wednesday.
• Wide receivers looked as good as they have all camp. Jojo Natson looked like Keeton's favorite target, consistently getting open and doing things with the ball once he had it. His size will always be a disadvantage, but he still looks very much like he knows what he's doing out there. Hayden Weichers had a few nice grabs too, including the longest catch of the day when he broke loose over the middle for a 42-yard catch. This unit still has a ways to go before I could say I'm fully confident in them, but the improvement is quite noticeable.
• The second team defense had Jeremy Morris and Tay Glover-Wright at cornerback. From that, you can take it that Rashard Stewart currently has a hold on the spot opposite Lawson on the first team. Still, for how well Morris has performed in camp, and with Tay Swoosh being Tay Swoosh, that position is really damn good!
• Hadn't really heard or seen much from sophomore linebacker Torrey Green, but he had a pair of plays that stood out pretty well. On one, he hulked his way through the line for a tackle for loss, and on the next chased down the ballcarrier all the way to the sideline with some pretty good speed. Somebody to definitely keep an eye on in the future.
• Tyler Larsen didn't play much, and it's not tough to imagine why. Without him though, Jamie Markosian was the backup center of choice, with Sini Tauauve'a sliding into his spot at left guard... just in case you're curious about the actual two-deep on the offensive line.
• This year's camp has seemed like it's had a lot more downs than ups for Jeff Manning, but Wednesday he looked totally dialed-in! His throws were pretty on point, and were it not for one drop and a deep ball that Brock Bird should've had but seemed to kind of just give up on, Manning would have 5-of-5 passes. Been saying it all along about the kid's potential, and today he finally showed a little bit of it.
• Darrell Garretson on the other hand was all over the place. The speed of a college practice seems to still be overwhelming to him, and it shows.
• Three sacks for Kyler Fackrell... Kid ain't bad.

That's all for Wednesday's scrimmage. Let's do it again on Saturday!

Practice moves over to Romney Stadium on Tuesday

To calm a lot of people's nerves, Tuesday marked the first sighting of wide receiver Ronald Butler practicing with the team. Due to the rules stating that players must have x-amount of practices before adding shoulder pads, and then full pads after that, Butler was limited in what he do, but it appears everything is sorted out now.

Things are starting to look more crisp all around as guys look to have the bulk of their rust shaken off after a few practices. Now with contact entering the mix, you can see just how competitive so many of these guys are. Even after some plays are blown dead, you'll see ballcarriers still running, while defenders are still trying to stop them, and both sides trying to get the best of one another. Things get a little chippy at times, but after those little shoving matches are over, you've still got two guys competing at a high level. Pretty alright if you ask me.

Shoulder pads enter the mix for third practice

On day one of practice, the theme was mostly to get a feel of where guys were and see how they progress as camp rolls along. Monday in the third practice of camp, shoulder pads entered the mix, along with a light amount of contact.

There's still obviously plenty to keep an eye and position battles to be won throughout camp, but there are still observations to be had. So here's what I spotted on Monday...

• Alex Wheat looked okay when camp opened on Friday. Monday, Wheat looked like the best of all the wideouts. He's practicing hard, catching balls, and even made a few very eye-opening catches in one-on-one drills against the cornerbacks. Much like how Rashard Stewart was the my star of Friday's practice, I'd dub Wheat as Monday's overall standout.

First practice is in the books

Took my own picture for once

Finding too much excitement in a first practice is something I was guilty of in my younger years. These days though, I've learned well enough that a first practice is exactly that, and shouldn't come with too much excitement or worry. There are a lot more practices to go and plenty that can change.

Still, there are observations to at least be had and impressions to take away. What is exciting to keep an eye on is if the good aspects can be sustained and if the sore spots can be improved upon.

So after a day of casually observing the first practice, which only included helmets, here's some bullet points...

Training camp opens in year one of the Matt Wells era

The self-imposed (or self-enjoyed) summer hiatus is complete. The Sagebrush Spot is back!

With football beginning practice Friday, there is finally some good, solid, hard news and excitement to write about. It's been a long summer, filled with plenty of laziness (or rather, not filled with much at all)... Let's just get right down to what's on my mind as camp opens.

PRESEASON TOP 25 VOTES
No big surprise here, just pretty cool to actually see it. I've got to think that if Andersen was still here, we'd have fallen somewhere in the 22-25 range, but hey... Start the season with a few wins, and Wells could suddenly be steering the ship of a top 25 team early in his first season.

Utah is going to be a tough-as-hell win to pull off, but if this team can do it, that right there might grab enough attention to climb into the top 25 if a few teams in front of USU lose/struggle.