Utah State Football 2007 Season Review Notes

Football 12/10/2007 12:00:00 AM

Dec. 10, 2007

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete Utah State Football 2007 Season Review Notes in PDF Format

QUICKLY -- Utah State won its last two games of the season, finishing with a 2-10 overall and 2-6 WAC ledger, matching the 2005 squad for best WAC record. The Aggies finished seventh in the league standings. Both of USU's wins this season were on the road, the most road wins since 2000 when the Aggies were 2-4 in away games.

THAT'S CALLED A WINNING STREAK -- For the first time since 2003, Utah State won back-to-back conference games and the Aggies won consecutive games on the road for the first time since 1999.

BIG RETURNS -- The Aggies will return 18 starters (six offense, 10 defense, two special teams), after losing eight starters (five offense, one defense, two special teams) among 15 seniors this season.

LOSING STREAK SNAPPED -- Utah State snapped a 16-game losing streak with its win at New Mexico State on Nov. 17, which was the second-longest skein in the country at the time.

TOP OFFENSES FACED -- USU faced some of the best offenses in the country, including three schools ranked in the top 10 in total offense (as of Dec. 1) in #3 Hawai'i, #7 Nevada and #10 Boise State. Other top 51-ranked opponents include #18 Oklahoma, #34 New Mexico State and #51 Fresno State.

TOP DEFENSES FACED -- Top 30 defenses USU faced this year include #15 Utah, #18 Oklahoma, #21 Boise State and #26 Wyoming, as well as #33 Hawai'i.

DOZEN GAMES AGAIN -- USU's 12 games matched the most in school history tying the 12 games played in 1993, 1997, 2003 and 2006.

SIX 2007 OPPONENTS GOING BOWLING -- Six of Utah State's 2007 opponents will be playing in bowl games, matching the 2006 total and just behind the 2005 total of seven... Two of USU's opponent's will be playing in a BCS Bowl, Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and Hawai'i in the Sugar Bowl.

Utah - San Diego Co. Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl vs. Navy - Dec. 20 - 7 p.m.
Nevada - New Mexico Bowl vs. New Mexico - Dec. 22 - 2:30 p.m.
Boise State - Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl vs. East Carolina - Dec. 23 - 6 p.m.
Fresno State - Roady's Truckstop Humanitarian Bowl vs. Georgia Tech - Dec. 31 - Noon
Hawai'i - Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia - Jan. 1 - 6:30 p.m.
Oklahoma - Tostito's Fiesta Bowl vs. West Virginia - Jan. 2 - 6 p.m.

TOP 25 OPPONENTS -- Three of USU's 2007 opponents ended the season ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 10 Hawai'i and No. 23 Boise State, which are the same three Aggie opponents that were ranked in the preseason poll.

YOUTH MOVEMENT CONTINUING -- After playing a combined 36 freshmen (20 in 2005 and 16 in 2006) in the last two seasons, USU head coach Brent Guy played 22 freshmen, including eight true freshmen in 2007... The 22 freshmen are the eighth-most in the country... A total of 10 freshman got starting experience this season, among the nation's leaders.

USU IN SEASON FINALES -- Utah State improved to 2-1 under Brent Guy in season finales, winning this season's last game, losing last year to New Mexico State after winning the 2005 finale at NMSU... The Aggies are 10-7 in their last 17 final games of the year... All-time, USU is 43-64-3 in its season finales.

USU MONTH BY MONTH -- Utah State's two wins in November give the Aggies a 2-2 record for the month, their best record in a month since going 2-2 in September, 2004... The 2-2 mark is USU's best record for November since going 2-1 in 2002... The win at New Mexico State snapped a six-game losing streak in November, and USU has lost 12 of its last 19 games in the American Thanksgiving month.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN -- Utah State football selected its permanent season captains in #57 senior DE Frank Maile for the defense, #74 senior OG Shawn Murphy for the offense and redshirt-freshman CB Geno Odong for special teams, voted on by the team and announced by head coach Brent Guy Tuesday... The Aggies used different captains each game during the year before the team voted on the season captains during the final week.

ROBINSON IN ELITE COMPANY -- Utah State's Kevin Robinson is one of two players in the country (UCLA's Matt Slater) with three kick returns for a touchdown this season... With four combined punt (one) and kick returns (three) for TD's, Robinson is the only player in the nation with four returns for scores.

NEW NO. 1 FOR USU AND NCAA -- With 259 all-purpose yards at Fresno State, Kevin Robinson passed Emmett White's 5,872 (1998-2001) for USU's Career All-Purpose record and Robinson ends his career with 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays... The 6,479 all-purpose yards is the second-most among active NCAA players, also just behind Chris Johnson of East Carolina with 6,345 yards.

Robinson became the NCAA Career All-Purpose Yards Per Play record holder, with a 16.16 average on 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays, topping the previous record of 15.8 by Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech (1996-98).

Robinson ends his career 16th on the NCAA's career all-purpose list, behind Mewelde Moore of Tulane (2000-03) with 6,505 yards.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN ON WAC LIST -- Robinson's 6,479 career all-purpose yards are a mark that would rank him second on the WAC career all-purpose yards, passing LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU from 1997-2000, as well as passing Marshall Faulk of San Diego State (1991-93) at No. 6... The No. 1 spot is held by Terance Mathis of New Mexico (1985-87, 89) with 6,691 yards... However, since USU was not in the WAC during Robinson's freshman season of 2004, those stats cannot be applied toward that mark... Robinson's 5,169 all-purpose yards in his three years that the Aggies have been in the WAC ranks Robinson 10th on the league's all-purpose yards list, shy of Winslow Oliver of New Mexico (1992-95) with 5,375... Robinson passed Marcus Harris of Wyoming (1993-96) with 4,734, Darnay Scott of San Diego State (1991-93) with 4,658, Jamal Willis of BYU (1991-94) with 4,435, Monty Gilbreath of San Diego State (1986-89) with 4,409, Ron Rivers of Fresno State (1991-93) with 4,388 and Ryan Yarborough of Wyoming (1990-93) with 4,357 yards... Robinson is the first player from the current WAC teams to crack the top 15 since Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (currently with the Chicago Bears) had 5,429 yards from 1999-2003 and is No. 8.

ROBINSON SECOND ON SINGLE-SEASON WAC RECORD LIST -- Robinson's 2,317 yards ranks No. 2 on the single-season WAC all-purpose yards list, 274 yards shy of the record set by Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (2001) and passing football greats LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU with 2,198 yards in 2000 and Marshall Faulk of San Diego State with 2,174 yards in 1993, bumping them down to third and fourth, respectively... Robinson is just the ninth player in WAC history to top the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark.

MAKING HIS MARK -- Senior WR Kevin Robinson is one of only two USU players to lead the team in scoring for three-straight seasons, matching Tom Larscheid from 1959-61. Robinson missed leading the Aggies in scoring again this season, finishing with 54 points, 10 behind Peter Caldwell's team-leading 64 points... However Robinson did match Kendal Smith (1986-88) as the only Aggies to lead the team in receiving three times, as Robinson led USU his freshman and junior seasons of 2004 and `06, respectively, as well as this year.

OTHER ROBINSON RECORDS -- Robinson ends his career as USU's career punt return record holder with 1,104 yards, passing the previous mark of 818 by Fred Fernandes (1979, 81-83)... He was 31 yards shy of Utah State's oldest single-season records, as he now has 378 punt return yards, which is just 31 shy of passing Marvin Bell's school record of 408 punt return yards in 1940.

JACKSON ACTION IN RECORD BOOK -- Senior QB/P Leon Jackson III broke his own school record for rushing yards by a QB (328 in his sophomore season of 2005 that he shared with Jerod Walker, also in 2005), ending the season with 338 yards.

Jackson also set a school record for single-season completion percentage (65.4 - 151-of-231), topping the previous mark of 60.2 by Eric Hipple in 1979.

JACKSON'S PASSING EFFICIENCY -- Jackson's 132.07 passing efficiency rating is the highest in school history with at least 100 attempts since 1979 when Eric Hipple had a 140.80... The 132.07 rating is the fifth-highest ever in school history since 1956.

Name    Rating  YearKeith Myers 148.00  1977Bill Munson 147.42  1963Eric Hipple 140.80  1979Tony Adams  140.61  1972Leon Jackson III   132.07  2007

JACKSON BITS -- Jackson became the ninth player in USU history to reach the 4,000 passing yards milestone, as he now has 4,221 for his career, ranking No. 8 on the Aggies' career passing yardage list

--Jackson's career completion percentage of 58.2 percent is No. 2 on the career list behind the 60.7 mark by Keith Myers (1976-77).

--Jackson also moved into No. 7 on USU's career passing list with 4,221 yards, moving past Ron Lopez's 4,182 yards (1990-91).

--Jackson ends his career with 5,035 yards of total offense, becoming the seventh player in USU history to reach the 5,000-yard milestone.

--Jackson's six rushing TD's this season are the most rushing TD's for a USU QB since Matt Sauk had six in 1997.

--The six rushing TD's are the most for a USU individual since David Fiefia's seven rushing TD's in 2003.

SWEET HOME? -- Utah State has just one home win in its last 12 home games, currently on a seven-game home losing skein... The Aggies are 3-12 at home under head coach Brent Guy.

ROAD WOE-IORS -- Life on the road has been tough for the Aggies, who are 3-18 under head coach Brent Guy... The win at New Mexico State on Nov. 17 snapped a 13-game road losing skid, as two of USU's three road wins are at NMSU, with the 35-17 victory on Nov. 17 plus winning on the road in the 2005 season finale at New Mexico State, 24-21, along with the 24-19 win at Idaho on Nov. 24.

MARSH AND SPEIGHT FAB FRESHMEN -- Freshmen running backs Curtis Marsh and Derrvin Speight had successful first seasons as Aggies... Marsh's 50 yards in his USU debut Aug. 30 were the most for a USU freshman in their first game in school history, and he topped that mark with 61 in the loss at Wyoming... Speight passed current teammate Chris Forbes for third-place on USU's freshman rushing list as Forbes had 396 in 2004... Speight had 504 yards on the season... No.2 is Demario Brown with 700 in 1996 while No.1 is Abu Wilson with 795 in 199... Marsh had a career-high 67 yards Saturday at New Mexico State and had 302 on the season... Speight's 99 yards in the San Jose State game were the single-game most for a freshman since Jerod Walker's 102 yards against New Mexico State in 2005.

Freshman Single-Season Bests    Year    Yards1. Abu Wilson   1992    7952. Demario Brown    1996    7003. Derrvin Speight 2007    5044. Chris Forbes   2004    3965. Curtis Marsh   2007    302

HEAD COACH Brent Guy -- Brent Guy (Oklahoma State, 1983) is in his third year as head coach after coming to Utah State from Arizona State where he was the defensive coordinator for four years. Guy was an assistant coach (linebackers) at Utah State from 1992-94 under then head coach Charlie Weatherbie. During that time, USU posted its only bowl victory in school history, claiming the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl. Guy was involved in eight bowl games in 19 years as a collegiate assistant coach. Previous stops include Oklahoma State (1986-91 - graduate assistant 1986-87, recruiting coordinator 1988, linebackers 1989-91), Utah State (1992-94 - linebackers), Oklahoma State (1995-97 - linebackers), Boise State (1998-2000 - defensive coordinator) and Arizona State (2001-04 - defensive coordinator) before being named the Aggies' 25th head coach in December of 2004. In his first year at USU, the Aggies were 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Utah State Head Coach   All WAC2005    3-8 2-62006    1-11    1-72007    2-10    2-6Total   6-29    5-19
Assistant Totals Record  NotesOklahoma State (1986-91, 95-97) 51-51-1 3 BowlsUtah State (1992-94)    15-19-0 1 BowlBoise State (1998-99)   26-10-0 2 Bowls, 2 10-win seasonsArizona State (2001-04) 13-19-0 2 BowlsTotals (19 years)   118-103-1   8 Bowls, 10 winning seasons

AGGIE ASSISTANT COACHES -- Utah State had two changes on its coaching staff from last year, as Darrell Dickey and Eric Sanders joined the staff.
Offensive Coordinator - Darrell Dickey (Kansas State, 1984, 1st Year)... Former head coach at North Texas... Guided Mean Green to four consecutive conference championships from 2001-04.
Wide Receivers - Greg Stevens (Eastern Oregon, 1992, 3rd Year)... Former offensive coordinator at S.F. Austin... USU interim off. coord. for eight games.
Running Backs - Shaun Johnson (Utah State, 1995, 2nd Year)... Former Aggie wide receiver, coached Division I-AA rushing leader at Brown in 2005.
Tight Ends - Tracy Smith (LSU, 2003, 2nd Year)... Worked with LSU quarterbacks last year. Is son of former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Carl Smith.
Offensive Line - Vance Vice (Oklahoma State, 1990, 3rd Year)... As an Oklahoma State tight end was the key to Barry Sanders winning the Heisman in 1988.
Def. Coord./LB - Mark Johnson (UC Davis, 1990, 3rd Year)... Has coached at four different WAC schools (San Jose State, Boise State, Nevada and USU).
Def. Line - Danilo Robinson (Utah State, 1997, 3rd Year)... Holds USU single-game sacks record with five vs. San Jose State in 1995.
Safeties - Jeff Copp (Boise State, 2001, 3rd Year)... Was an all-conference defensive end while playing at Boise State.
Cornerbacks - John Rushing (Washington State, 1995, 5th Year)... Was a freshman All-America corner at Washington State. Older brother of USU WR Kevin Robinson.
GA-Defense - Eric Sanders (UC Davis, 2005, 1st Year)... Helped coach UC Davis to share of 2005 Great West Football Conference Championship.
GA-Offense/Special Teams - Tony Flores (Utah State, 2nd Year)... Moved up from serving as a work study in the football office in 2005.

DID YOU KNOW? -- USU head coach Brent Guy and offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey played against each other when Guy was a linebacker at Oklahoma State and Dickey was a quarterback at Kansas State... Oklahoma State won all four meetings during Guy and Dickey's tenures, winning 42-15 in 1979, 10-0 in 1980, 31-10 in '81 and 24-16 in '82... Oct. 20 marked the 25th anniversary of Guy and Dickey's last meeting of 1982 when Oklahoma State hosts Kansas State... In the 1982 Cowboy-Wildcat clash, Guy had 18 tackles, including one TFL and two pass break-ups while Dickey was 17-of-35 passing for 185 yards with two TD's and one INT.

DID YOU KNOW? - TAKE 2 -- Four of the seven offensive coordinators in the WAC, including USU's Darrell Dickey are in their first years in the conference... Dickey is joined by Fresno State's Jim McElwain, Idaho's Steve Axman and Louisiana Tech's Frank Scelfo - Hawai'i head coach June Jones and New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme are their own offensive coordinators.

OFFENSIVE NOTES -- The 14-play scoring drive on the Aggies' opening score at Idaho was the second-longest drive this season behind an 18-play drive vs. San Jose State (Sept. 22)... USU's 166 rushing yards at New Mexico State is the second-most this season, behind the 175 vs. San Jose State (Sept. 22)... The 355 yards of total offense in the NMSU game are the third-most... USU's 82 yards rushing in the Boise State game is the second-fewest this year behind 66 at Oklahoma (Sept. 15)... The 11 first downs is also the second-fewest behind eight at Oklahoma... The Aggies used three QB's in a game for the first time this season and the first time since the Utah game last season on Sept. 16... With 369 yards of total offense at Fresno State, Utah State was one yard shy of its season-high 370 at Hawai'i on Oct. 6... The 214 yards passing at Fresno State is the third-highest total... All 214 yards were by senior QB/P Leon Jackson, which is a season-high for him and the most since he had 372 against La Tech in 2005, his sophomore season... Junior TE Rob Myers caught his first career TD at Fresno State... Myers had two TD's in the New Mexico State game, becoming the first USU receiver with two TD's since Kevin Robinson had two at La Tech last year... Myers had four catches for 117 yards in the NMSU, to become the first USU receiver with 100 yards this season and the first since Robinson's 101 vs. New Mexico State last season (Nov. 25, 2006)... USU's 220 passing yards against La Tech is the second-most this season and a season-high at home... Jackson's 82-yard pass play to redshirt-freshman Jacob Actkinson was a career-long pass for Jackson and a career-long catch for Actkinson as well as his first career TD... Actkinson had eight catches for only 61 yards on the season prior to that catch... The 82-yard pass play for TD was the longest in USU history since an 80-yard pass from Jose Fuentes to Kevin Curtis (currently of the Philadelphia Eagles) vs. New Mexico in 2002... The 97-yard drive was USU's longest of the season and the longest since at least 2002, topping a 96-yard drive vs. Idaho on Nov. 22, 2003... USU's three rushing TD's against Nevada were the most since having three against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 27, 2003... By leading USU in receiving in the Nevada game with 41 yards on three catches, junior TE Rob Myers became the first TE to lead the Aggies in receiving since current Washington Redskins' TE Chris Cooley did so against Idaho, Nov. 22, 2003 with 10 catches for 125 yards... Jackson's two rushing TD's in the first and fourth quarters of the Nevada game give him four for the season and five for his career... Jackson's four rushing TD's this year are the most for a USU QB since Travis Cox had four in 2003... The Aggies' 22:47 of possession against Nevada was the lowest this season and the lowest since 21:43 at Nebraska on Sept. 6, 2003... USU's longest opening drive this year was at Hawai'i, as the Aggies had gone three-and-out in four of the previous five opening drives... The field goal on USU's first possession of the Hawai'i game marked USU's first score on the opening drive in a span of 13-games, dating back to the Idaho game last season (Sept. 30, 2006)... By scoring 37 points, USU scored the most points not only against Hawai'i in the modern day series, but the most at Hawai'i since 1966 when the Aggies won 48-0... The 37 points scored by the Aggies is a season-high as well as the most under head coach Brent Guy and the most since 41 with a 41-20 win against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 1, 2003... USU's 370 yards of total offense at Hawai'i is a season-high and the most since 373 at Louisiana Tech last season (Oct. 21, 2006)... The Aggies' 247 yards passing is also a season-high and the most also since that same game at La Tech... A total of nine different receivers caught a pass in the Hawai'i game, the most since 10 different players caught a pass in the 2004 season finale against New Mexico State (Nov. 20, 2004)... Robinson's 96 receiving yards at Hawai'i were also a season-high and his most since 101 in last season's finale against New Mexico State (Nov. 25, 2006)... Freshman Derrvin Speight's 71 rushing yards at Hawai'i were his second-highest output, behind the 99 against San Jose State earlier this season (Sept. 22)... Utah State's 175 rushing yards against San Jose State was a season-high... USU's 18 play, 92-yard scoring drive against San Jose State, took 8:23, all season-highs, and were all the longest drives since at least 2004... Of the 18 plays, 17 were rushes... 10 of those rushes were by Speight, who had career-high 22 carries for 99 yards and his first career TD on a 1-yard plunge... USU has spread its passing around by hitting at least six receivers in the 11 games (six vs. UNLV, eight at Wyoming, seven at Oklahoma, eight vs San Jose State, seven at Utah, nine at Hawai'i, six vs Nevada, eight vs La Tech, eight at Fresno State, seven vs Boise State, seven at NMSU) before only hitting five in the season finale at Idaho... Robinson's eight catches at Oklahoma were the most since his career-high of nine catches vs. La Tech his sophomore season of 2005... Freshman TB Curtis Marsh led USU in rushing in its first three games before Speight led the team the next three games, against San Jose State, at Utah and at Hawai'i and then Jackson led against Nevada and McCormick in the La Tech game before Speight led again at Fresno State and then McCormick in the Boise State contest, and Speight led in the NMSU and Idaho games... Robinson led the Aggies in receptions in the first six games until Myers led the team against Nevada with three catches for 41 yards and then Robinson in the La Tech and Fresno State games before Myers again vs Boise State and NMSU, and then Robinson in the finale at Idaho... By scoring an offensive TD in the first game, USU got on the board early in the season compared to not scoring an offensive TD until the fifth game of the year last season.

DEFENSIVE NOTES -- Sophomore LB Paul Igboeli's fumble recovery in the first quarter of the Idaho game was the sixth recovered fumble of the season for the USU defense... With senior DE Carl Singleton's sacks in the second and third quarters of the game at Idaho, he had USU's last five sacks and six of the last eight... Singleton led the team with 6.5 sacks on the season... Sophomore SS James Brindley's interception in the second quarter and junior S Roy Hurst's INT in the fourth quarter of the Idaho game are now tied for the team lead with three each on the season... The three INT's is the most for a USU individual since Cornelius Lamb had three in 2004... Brindley's pick, sophomore CB Geno Odong's first career INT at the end of the first half, and Hurst's INT now give the USU defense 15 oskies this season, the most since 19 in 1994... USU's defense had at least one INT in nine of the 12 games this season, the most since at least 1992... The four turnovers by Idaho is a single-game season-high for the USU defense... By stopping New Mexico State on its opening drive, the USU defense stopped a string of five straight games that the opponent scored on its first drive of the game... The 17 points allowed to NMSU is a season-low and the fewest since holding Fresno State to 12 last year... The 88 rushing yards by NMSU is the second-fewest this season... USU's defense has now recorded a pick in eight games this season and now have 12 oskies on the year, the most INT's since 13 in 2003... Boise State's 484 yards of total offense was the sixth time this season that the USU defense has allowed more than 400 yards of total offense.... The 131 passing yards by Fresno State is a season-low allowed by the USU defense... Fresno State's 255 yards rushing marked the fourth time this season that the USU defense has allowed 250+ yards rushing... Junior S Joshua Taylor's interception at the end of the first half was his second of his career and first since his freshman season of 2005... By Nevada's Luke Lippincott surpassing the 200-yard rushing mark, he becomes the first opposing player to reach 200-yards rushing on the USU defense since Jamario Brown of North Texas had 256 yards in 2004... Current USU offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was head coach of the Mean Green at the time... Utah State's defense posted a season-low by only yielding 47 rushing yards to Hawai'i, the fewest since giving up 45 yards on the ground to Louisiana Monroe on Sept. 27, 2003... The 465 yards passing by Hawai'i is a season-high allowed by the USU defense and the most since the Aggies gave up 486 yards through the air to Hawai'i last season... Junior FS Roy Hurst's INT against SJSU was his second in as many games, becoming the first Aggie since Terrance Washington did it in back-to-back games on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2003... However, Robert Watts and Antonio Taylor both had two interceptions in the same game vs. UNLV on Sept. 22, 2004... Sophomore S James Brindley nabbed his first career interception at Utah and returned it 64 yards... Brindley's 64-yard return was USU's longest INT return this season and longest since Robert Watts had a 90-yard INT return vs. UNLV on Sept. 25, 2004... USU has had two INT's in a game three times this season (at Wyoming on Sept. 6, vs San Jose State Sept. 22 and Sept. 29 at Utah)... The 54 points allowed at Oklahoma was the most since Hawai'i posted 63 last year and the 51 point margin was the 14th-largest losing margin in school history... OU's Patrick Allen and DeMarco Murray became the first pair of teammates to both rush for 100 yards on USU since Alabama on Sept. 4, 2004... OU's 617 yards of total offense was the first time an opponent gained over 600 yards since 654 at Louisiana-Monroe in 2002... LB De'von Hall's 38-yard INT return for a touchdown was USU's second in as many seasons at Wyoming (Antonio Taylor's 45-yard INT return) and was Hall's second career TD, as he had a 65-yard fumble return for score last season at Boise State (Nov. 18)... The 314 yards allowed against UNLV was the fewest yards allowed by the Aggie defense since holding Louisiana Tech to 276 yards in 2005... Last season's lowest yards allowed was 316 against Idaho... LB Jake Hutton tied a career-high by logging 12 tackles at Wyoming, his first double-digit tackle outing since making 10 stops against Utah last year, his last complete game before being injured in the next game at BYU.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES -- Freshman K Peter Caldwell's FG at the end of the first half at Idaho was his second half-ending FG of the season (UNLV on Aug. 30) and was the fourth time this season that a USU game has had a FG as the last play of the half (by Oklahoma on Sept. 15, by Utah on Sept. 29)... The blocked punt returned for the TD in the Boise State game was the first kick blocked for a touchdown since Bobby Williamson of Clemson did it in 2004... After not having a field goal blocked in its previous seven games, USU has now had a FG blocked in its last three games... The 88-yard kick return by Fresno State's A.J. Jefferson is the longest kick return allowed by USU this season and the longest in USU history since 2000... After not giving up a kick return for a TD since 1998, USU has now given up two kick returns for a TD this season (87-yarder by Malcolm Lane of Hawai'i on Oct. 6)... It was the third return for a TD overall (punt return at Utah on Sept. 29)... Robinson now takes sole possession of the USU career record for punt returns for TD, surpassing John Strycula (1969-71) and Bob Wicks (1969-71) with three each... Robinson already holds the school record for special teams returns with seven (four career punt returns, three career kick returns)... The 70-yard return was Robinson's longest punt return since an 87-yarder his sophomore season of 2005... With a season-high 276 all-purpose yards against San Jose State, Robinson has had at least 200 yards of all-purpose yards six times this season... Robinson's 100-yard kick return at Hawai'i was the third longest in school history and the longest in the modern era since the NCAA statistics counted all returns in end zone as 100-yard returns... The school record is 105 by Altie Taylor vs West Texas State (now West Texas A&M) in 1967 and No. 2 is Tom Larsheid's 102-yard return vs. BYU in 1960... Robinson breaks the school record for career kick returns with his third career kick return (second in three games - vs. San Jose State on Sept. 22)... The 87-yard kick return by Malcolm Lane of Hawai'i was the first kick return against USU since North Texas' Broderick McGrew in 1998... USU offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was in his first season as head coach of North Texas that year... Robinson had a previous season-long 82-yard return for a TD vs. SJSU, his first kick return since 2004, his freshman season when he had a 94-yard return for a TD vs. Louisiana-Monroe... Robinson's return was his second in as many home games vs. SJSU, as he had an 87-yard punt return in the match-up on Oct. 8, 2005, which resulted in a 21-14 USU victory... Senior RB Aaron Lesue's 50-yard kick return in the second quarter against San Jose State was a career-long... Freshman K Peter Caldwell's 47-yard field goal at Hawai'i was his career-long... Caldwell made his first career punt with the 40-yard punt in the fourth quarter of the Hawai'i game... With a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, Caldwell gave USU its first field goal of the season in game one... Last season, the Aggies were the last team in the NCAA to make a field goal, finally splitting the uprights in week nine against Hawai'i... Caldwell's 29-yard field goal in the second quarter at Wyoming was USU's second FG of the season, matching last season's total and his 31-yarder in the third stanza topped last year's... Utah's Derrick Richards' 75-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first punt return for a TD against Utah State since Darren Toney of Arkansas State on Nov. 11, 2004.

ROBINSON LEADS UTAH STATE'S FOUR ALL-WAC AWARDS -- Senior Named First-Team Special Teams; Murphy, Hutton And Jackson On Second-Team

Utah State football had four players earn all-Western Athletic Conference honors, voted on by the league's coaches and announced by the conference office on Dec. 3. Kevin Robinson was named to the first-team, while Shawn Murphy, Jake Hutton and Leon Jackson III were tabbed to the second-team.

The four players honored matches the 2005 season for most all-WAC honorees for the Aggies, while this is the first season to have more than two named to the second-team since the 2003 squad had seven players earn second-team all-Sun Belt accolades.

Robinson, a senior wide receivier/kick returner and a native of Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), was named to the first-team as the special teams player. In all-purpose yards, Robinson leads the WAC and is eighth in the country with 193.08 all-purpose ypg. Robinson also leads both the WAC and the NCAA with an 18.9 yards per punt return average. He has one punt return for a TD, a 70-yarder against Nevada on Oct. 20. For his career, Robinson had four punt returns for a TD. Robinson also ranks third in the league and ninth in the nation in kickoff return with a 29.3 ypr average and has three kick returns for TD, only one of two players in the country to do so. He also is the only player in the country with four combined returns (three kickoff and one punt) this season.

Robinson recently became the NCAA career all-purpose yards per play record holder, with a 16.16 average on 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays.

"Kevin is very deserving of this honor, especially for breaking the NCAA all-purpose yards per play record, as well as for leading the conference and being in the top of the NCAA stats for all-purpose yards," USU head coach Brent Guy said.

Murphy, a senior left guard and a native of Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak HS/Dixie JC), was tabbed to the second-team offensive line. After playing offensive tackle last season, Murphy made the transition to offensive guard this year, where he did not give up any sacks, grading out at a team-leading 84 percent. Murphy also led the team with 137 knockdowns. He started all 12 games this season and all 24 during his USU career, playing in all but six offensive snaps this season. Murphy anchored an Aggie offensive line that accumulated 1,499 rushing yards, the most for a USU offense since 1999 when the Aggies had 1,941 rushing yards. Utah State had 3,335 yards of total offense.

"For Shawn to make the move from tackle to guard and still get recognition is very rewarding for him," Guy said. "I think he'll be rewarded some more with the NFL Draft."

This is the third year in a row for an Aggie offensive lineman to earn second-team all-WAC honors and the 10th time in the last 12 years that a USU offensive lineman has received all-conference accolades.

Hutton, a junior linebacker from Pocatello, Idaho (Pocatello HS), ranks ninth in the WAC in tackles with 102 (8.5 pg), the most for a USU individual since Robert Watts had 118 in 2004. After missing eight games last season with a foot injury, Hutton was one of 10 linebackers in the league with over 100 tackles. Hutton is tied for fifth in the WAC in solo tackles with 58, the most solo stops for an Aggie since Jesse Busta had 64 in 2002. Hutton led USU with 16 tackles in each of the last two games. This was the second time in the last three years that Hutton has led the team in tackles after making 87 stops his freshman season of 2005.

"Jake was severely missed last season and came back to have a great year this season for us. He is a terrific ball-hawk and was among the conference's best for making solo tackles," Guy said.

Jackson, a senior quarterback/punter from Long Beach, Calif. (Long Beach Poly HS), was named the second-team punter. After leading the league statistics for most of the season, Jackson ends up tied for second, as his 41.26 average is just .04 yard behind Louisiana Tech's Chis Keagle's league-leading 41.30 average. The 40.26 average ranks Jackson tied for 47th in the NCAA. Jackson had a season-long of 62 yards, which is the third-longest in the WAC this season and had 20 percent of his punts inside the 20 with 16, along with four touchbacks.

"Leon led the league punting statistics for most of the season, which is tremendous since he didn't practice near as much as anyone else in the conference because he's also our quarterback," Guy said. "He did a terrific job for us this season at both positions."

At quarterback, Jackson set a school record this year with a 65.4 completion percentage. Jackson's 132.07 passing efficiency rating this season, is the highest for a USU QB with at least 100 attempts since 1979 when Eric Hipple had a 140.80 rating.

Jackson ended the year with 1,576 passing yards and 338 rushing yards, throwing for nine TD's and rushing for six scores. Jackson broke his own school record for rushing yards by a QB (328 in his sophomore season of 2005 that he shared with Jerod Walker, also in 2005). His six rushing TD's were the most for a USU QB since Matt Sauk had six in 1997, while his six TD's are the most for a USU individual since David Fiefia's seven rushing TD's in 2003.

Jackson's 58.2 career completion percentage is second on USU's career list, behind Keith Myers (1976-77) with 60.7. Jackson also is seventh for both total offense (5,035 yards) and career completions (382), eighth in passing yardage (4,221) and eighth in passing attempts (656).

USU FOOTBALL PRESENTS TEAM AWARDS AT END OF YEAR BANQUET -- Aggies Honor Seniors, Robinson And Maile Named Offensive And Defensive MVP's --

Utah State football honored its seniors and handed out team awards at the Aggies' annual end of the year banquet held Dec. 8 in the Stevenson Ballroom of the USU Taggart Student Center.

The Aggies recognized their 13 seniors: RB Josh Anderson, TE/FB Jimmy Bohm, FB Ryan Bohm, DE Ben Childs, TE Will Fausel, QB/P Leon Jackson III, OG Pace Jorgensen, DE Frank Maile, OG Shawn Murphy, CB Drew Pearson, WR Tarell Richards, WR/KR Kevin Robinson and DE Carl Singleton.

Utah State also announced its team awards, with Jackson receiving the Big Blue Scholarship Fund Varsity Award, while Singleton received the team's Iron Aggie Award. Richards was presented with the John Hill Award. Freshman Ben Longshore was tabbed the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year, while junior linebacker Deshon Benton was recognized as the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year.

Maile was tabbed the Defensive MVP while Robinson was named the Offensive MVP.

The Big Blue Scholarship Fund Varsity Award, honors a senior who is involved in the community and has academic as well as athletic achievement. Jackson is expected to earn his political science degree this fall, and is involved in several USU groups.

On the field, Jackson, a Long Beach, Calif. (Long Beach Poly HS) native, set a school record this year with a 65.4 completion percentage. Jackson's 132.07 passing efficiency rating this season, is the highest for a USU QB with at least 100 attempts since 1979 and is the fifth-highest ever in USU history since 1956.

Singleton received the team's Iron Aggie Award, acknowledging the hardest worker and the most progress in the weight room, marking the fourth year in a row for a defensive lineman to receive the award. A native of New Orleans, La. (Carver HS/Bakersfield JC), led USU and had the third-most sacks in the Western Athletic Conference with 6.0, with 4.5 of them coming in WAC games, as part of his 41 tackles (21 solo, 20 assists). He ranked 11th for defensive lineman in the WAC in tackles for loss with 7.5 including 6.0 of them in WAC games. Singleton also tied for the WAC lead with four forced fumbles.

Richards received the John Hill Award for overcoming an injury, named after former Aggie linebacker John Hill, who was seriously injured in his freshman season of 1981 and was physically unable to play football again but stayed on scholarship and acted as student assistant coach for the team. Richards, a native of West Valley City, Utah (Hunter HS), had his 2006 season cut short with a high ankle injury and limited to only nine games but then was granted an extra year of eligibility prior to this season. He had two catches for 29 yards this year.

Longshore, a native of Santa Clarita, Calif. (Canyon HS), was tabbed the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year, for his role in helping the Aggie defense prepare for their opponent. Benton, a junior linebacker from Modesto, Calif. (Downey HS/Modesto JC), was named the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year, for helping prepare the USU offense. Both redshirted this season.

Maile, a Sandy, Utah (Alta HS), native, was named Utah State's Defensive MVP. He tied for second on the team with 8.0 tackles for loss as part of his 32 tackles on the season. Maile also had two pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Maile started all 12 games this year, ending his Aggie career with 22 career starts in playing 42 career games.

Robinson, a native of Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), was tabbed the Aggies' Offensive MVP. He currently leads the NCAA with an 18.9 yards per punt return average. Robinson has one punt return for a TD, a 70-yarder against Nevada on Oct. 20. For his career, he had four punt returns for a TD.

He became the NCAA Career All-Purpose Yards Per Play record holder, with a 16.16 average on 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays.

Robinson also ranks ninth in the nation in kickoff return with a 29.3 ypr average and has three kick returns for TD, only one of two players in the country to do so. He also is the only player in the country with four combined returns (three kickoff and one punt).

With 2,317 all-purpose yards this season, Robinson ranks No. 2 on the single-season WAC all-purpose yards list, 274 yards shy of the record set by Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (2001) and passing football greats LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU with 2,198 yards in 2000 and Marshall Faulk of San Diego State with 2,174 yards in 1993, bumping them down to third and fourth, respectively. Robinson is just the ninth player in WAC history to top the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark.

ROBINSON GARNERS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS --
As of Dec. 10, Utah State senior Kevin Robinson has garnered three All-American honors and a total of five postseason honors, being named to the CBSSportsline.com first-team All-America list as a punt returner, Robinson was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation second-team All-American and the rivals.com third-team All-American lists earlier this month, as well as rivals.com all-WAC and first-team all-WAC.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America honor is the most prestigious of the awards to date, and Robinson became the first Utah State player since defensive lineman Rulan Jones in 1979 to earn second-team All-American honors. Jones was a first-team Sporting News All-American and a second-team Newspaper Enterprise of America All-American in 1979. Robinson is the first Aggie since defensive end Phil Olsen in 1969 to be recognized as a Walter Camp All-American.

In all, Robinson is the 12th player in USU history to earn first or second-team All-American accolades.

Overall, Robinson is the first Aggie to receive All-American honors since tight end Chris Cooley earned honorable mention All-American accolades in 2003.

Robinson was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation second-team All-American and the rivals.com third-team All-American lists earlier this month, as well as rivals.com all-WAC and first-team all-WAC.

Robinson, a native of Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), currently leads the NCAA with an 18.9 yards per punt return average. Robinson has one punt return for a TD, a 70-yarder against Nevada on Oct. 20. For his career, he had four punt returns for a TD.

He became the NCAA Career All-Purpose Yards Per Play record holder, with a 16.16 average on 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays.

Robinson is the only player listed on both lists among the nation's top 17 players in both return categories.

In all-purpose yards, Robinson is eighth in the country with 193.08 all-purpose ypg.

Robinson's 6,479 career all-purpose yards would rank second on the WAC career all-purpose yards, passing LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU from 1997-2000, as well as passing Marshall Faulk of San Diego State (1991-93) at No. 6. The No. 1 spot is held by Terance Mathis of New Mexico (1985-87, 89) with 6,691 yards.

However, since USU was not in the WAC during Robinson's freshman season of 2004, those stats cannot be applied toward that mark. Robinson's 5,169 all-purpose yards in his three years that the Aggies have been in the WAC ranks Robinson 10th on the league's all-purpose yards list, shy of Winslow Oliver of New Mexico (1992-95) with 5,375. Robinson is the first player from the current WAC teams to crack the top 15 since Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (currently with the Chicago Bears) had 5,429 yards from 1999-2003 and is No. 8.

Robinson ends his career 16th on the NCAA's career all-purpose list, behind Mewelde Moore of Tulane (2000-03) with 6,505 yards.

Robinson was 30 yards short of one of Utah State's oldest single-season records, with 378 punt return yards this season, shy of Marvin Bell's school record of 408 punt return yards in 1940. Robinson also is USU's career punt return record holder with 1,104 yards, passing the previous mark of 818 by Fred Fernandes (1979, 81-83).

On the season, Robinson had 55 receptions for 640 yards and five TDs. He ends his career as USU's career receptions leader with 178 catches, passing the previous record of 174 by Kevin Curtis (2000-01), currently with the Philadelphia Eagles.

-USU-

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