Remember, remember the fifth of November...

"Remember, remember the fifth of November, when the Aggies seemed dead but were not...
I plead you with urgence that this Aggie resurgence, shall never be forgot..."

It was one year ago today...

One year ago that the despair and doubt we all knew, and knew all too well, reached its peak of the 2011 season. We had seen flashes of improvement in 2009, followed up by injuries and missed opportunities haunting much of the 2010 season. Then to start 2011, USU established an unwelcome identity as the heartbreak kids, destined to let games slip away in the closing seconds.

With a 2-5 record overall, and an 0-2 start to WAC play, things looked to be headed down an even darker road with a 28-7 halftime deficit and the Aggies star freshman quarterback in an ambulance. Feelings of emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness were in the minds of every Aggie fan at that moment. There was also that terrifying feeling of worry that things actually might never get better. And while those feelings aren't anything foreign to those of us who have been around USU for a while, we still hope that each time around, things will be finally be different. In this instance though, doubt and heartbreak trumped every glimmer of hope...

Still teammates: Seattle drafts Robert Turbin

Using the 106th overall pick, the Seattle Seahawks came knocking on Utah State's door once again, this time drafting running back Robert Turbin.

Much like Wagner, Turbin appears to be coming into a situation where he'll be expected to fill a need for the Seahawks. While Marshawn Lynch is the unquestioned starter at running back for Seattle, everyone knows you need some running back depth in the NFL, and a solid compliment to Lynch is apparently a need that they wanted to fill.

Turbin will be battling for carries with Leon Washington and Justin Forsett. Neither was overly impressive last season, and both are decently smaller than Turbin, who is built somewhat similar to Lynch.

NFL draft weekend starts tonight

Once upon a time, the NFL Draft was an all-day Saturday and all-day Sunday event that commanded the attention of an entire weekend. Growing up, my brother and I referred to it as The Holiest of All Holidays, and for good reason. Any day where you roll out of bed, pop on the couch for some football (of sorts) all day, eat munchies, bean dip and drink soda while getting a glimpse at your team's future was as good as it got for a Saturday in late-April.

Then Roger Goodell, as he so often does, shat on everything. We get this primetime draft garbage that just ruined that most holy of days. As if him trying to take contact out of the NFL wasn't enough... freakin dick.

BUT... On the brighter side of things, when was the last time we were all pretty sure we'd see three Utah State Aggies drafted in a single draft?? (Seriously, any of you older guys who could help with this answer, it would be appreciated)

Breaking down Robert Turbin's combine numbers

Sadly, this write-up will only be about one Utah State player at the NFL Combine rather than two. Bobby Wagner came down with pneumonia and wasn't able to participate, which really really sucks for him, but if his stock falls a bit because of it, some team might be getting a great linebacker in the third round rather than the first or second.

Anyway, Robert Turbin impressed a handful of people over the weekend at the combine, and really has probably earned a fairly good reputation among the NFL scouts. His official time in the 40-yard dash was 4.5 seconds, which is neither great, nor terrible. Considering that the best time by a running back at this combine was a 4.4 by Lamar Miller, with the next best checking in at 4.45. So in comparison, Turbin's 4.5 isn't at all bad in comparison.

What really opened some eyes was the 28 bench reps that Turbin busted out, tying Boise State's Doug Martin for the best total by a running back this year. Over the past seven years, there have only been 13 running backs to have reached 28 reps or better, so that's no small feat. He landed in the top 10 among running backs in both the vertical leap and broad jump drills too.