Aug. 20, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Aggie Fact of the Day:
USU's offense accumulated 1,499 rushing yards in 2007, the most for an Aggie offense since 1999 when USU had 1,941 rushing yards... The 134.9 rushing yards per game from 2007 was the highest since 1999 as well, when the Aggies had a 176.5 ypg average.

Aggie Tidbit of the Day:
Utah State's bookends at offensive tackle, senior Derek Hoke on the left and sophomore Spencer Johnson on the right, are two of the combined tallest tackles in the country, with Hoke towering at 6'9" and Johnson at 6'5"... The Aggie duo's combined height of 13'2" unofficially trails the Colorado tandem of Nate Solder (6'8") and Ryan Miller (6'7") and the Wisconsin duo of Gabe Carimi (6'8") and Eric Vanden Heuvel (6'7").

Utah State and head coach Brent Guy return six offensive starters as part of 12 lettermen on offense and the Aggies are entering their second season under offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Darrell Dickey's offensive scheme.

The Aggies' offense accumulated 1,499 rushing yards last year, the most for a USU offense since 1999 when the Aggies had 1,941 rushing yards, while the 124.9 rushing yards per game was the highest average since 1999 as well, when USU had a 176.5 ypg average. USU's 247 points scored were the most since 264 in 2003, while the 20.6 ppg were also the most since 2003 when USU averaged 22.0 ppg.

The core of the group is the offensive line, which will stabilize the offense while the new starting quarterback settles in, along with veterans at the wide receiver, tight end and running back positions.

The Aggies return three of the five starters on the offensive line, anchored by Tonnemacher in the middle along with senior Derek Hoke and sophomore Spencer Johnson at the tackles. Tonnemacher and Hoke, as well as Murphy, led the offense with 759 offensive plays last season. Tonnemacher has a team-high 24 consecutive starts, tying Hutton for the team lead among the returners with 27 total starts. Johnson was the only USU freshman to start all 12 games and was just one of five freshman to play in all 12 games. The guard positions are expected to be filled by sophomore Ty Rogers and redshirt freshman Philip Gapelu, while junior Brennan McFadden can step in and play any offensive line position.

Senior Rob Myers highlights the tight end position, as he led the nation's tight ends with a 15.2 yards per catch average last season on 21 catches for 320 yards with three touchdown. He was named the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week on Nov. 21, 2007, for his career-best outing of 117 yards on four catches with two TD's in USU's win at New Mexico State. Newcomer Jeremy Mitchell, a junior college transfer from Laney Junior College (Calif.), is expected to be a frequent target as well as sophomore Doug Barbour (seven catches, 52 yards) and redshirt freshman Tarren Lloyd, both young, promising prospects. Another target will be junior Zac Zimmerman, who is sliding out from the offensive line and converting to tight end.

At wide receiver, senior Otis Nelson is expected to see a large share of the passes thrown his way, as he is the leading returning receiver with 20 catches for 189 yards with one touchdown last season. Other targets include juniors Xavier Bowman (seven catches for 34 yards), Omar Sawyer (6-96) and Nnamdi Gwacham (1-5), as well as Morrison and fellow redshirt freshman Austin Alder, who both had solid springs.

For the second year in a row, Jacob Actkinson will hold down the fullback position and the sophomore got better from week to week last year and is expected to pick up where he left off. Actkinson had 22 carries for 86 yards with one TD a season ago, as well as 12 catches for 167 yards with one TD. The TD reception came on an 82-yard catch and rumble for a score against Louisiana Tech, making his mark in the USU record book with the 10th-longest pass play in school history.

Sophomore Brian Mason was moved from defensive line to fullback during spring drills and senior Chris Forbes can play both offensive backfield positions. Additionally, USU's tight ends, including Myers and Zimmerman will also lineup at the fullback position from time to time.

For the first time in three years, USU's leading rusher returns, as sophomore tailback Derrvin Speight is back after his 129 carries for 504 yards with three TD's. Those 504 yards were the third-most for an Aggie freshman in school history. Speight will share time with classmate Curtis Marsh, who also made USU history with 50 yards in his debut, the most for a USU freshman in their first game in school history. Marsh ended the season with 302 yards on 82 carries with two scores. Both are also targets out of the backfield, as Marsh had 16 catches for 96 yards while Speight had 13 receptions for 57 yards.

Robert Turbin is also expected to get a share of the rushing workload after redshirting last season with an injury, but has shown solid skills during the last two spring drills and last season's fall practices.

A three-headed monster at quarterback consists of three different styles. Senior Sean Setzer is a pocket passer, who never quite recovered from a preseason injury last year and only saw action in one game, completing his lone pass attempt. Sophomore Diondre Borel, who saw limited action in the spring due to an injury, can both run and pass and has big play ability after getting some game experience at receiver last year, with one catch for eight yards. He also had five rushes for 10 yards. Freshman Exavier Johnson can both run and pass, and as he learns and develops in USU's offense will become a multi-threat.

Utah State opens the 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at UNLV at 8 p.m. (MT). After playing at No. 21 Oregon on Sept. 6 at 1:30 p.m. (MT), the Aggies host in-state rival Utah in their home-opener on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. (MT). USU continues its three-game homestand by opening WAC action against Idaho on Saturday, Sept. 20 for USU Ag Day. The Aggies then host another in-state rival in BYU on Friday, Oct. 3. After road games at San Jose State and Nevada on Oct. 11 and 18, respectively, USU hosts Fresno State in its annual Homecoming game on Oct. 25. The Aggies remain at home to take on Hawai'i on Nov. 1 on USU Military Appreciation Day. USU plays at Boise State on Nov. 8 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15 before concluding regular-season action on Nov. 29 against New Mexico State on Aggie Appreciation Day.

The Aggies were picked ninth in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll despite finishing seventh in last season's standings with a 2-10 overall record and 2-6 in WAC action. USU has 17 starters returning among 39 lettermen. Of those lettermen, 12 are seniors, which matches last season for the most in Guy's four-year tenure.

Aggie football tickets are available in person through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

USU OFFENSE CAPSULE2007 WAC/NCAA RankingsRushing - 6th/94th (124.9)Passing - 9th/116th (153.0)Total - 9th/115th (277.92)Scoring - 8th/101st (20.6)
Lettermen Returning - 12Lettermen Lost - 10Starters Returning - 6Starters Lost - 5
Offensive LineReturning Lettermen*Derek Hoke, Sr., 6-9, 315 (3L)*Spencer Johnson, So., 6-5, 292 (1L)Brennan McFadden, Jr., 6-2, 305 (2L)Ty Rogers, So., 6-3, 300 (1L)*Ryan Tonnemacher, Sr., 6-3, 292 (3L)
Lettermen Lost* Pace Jorgensen (4L)*Shawn Murphy (2L)
Tight EndsReturning LettermenDoug Barbour, So., 6-4, 235 (1L)*Rob Myers, Sr., 6-4, 240 (3L)
Lettermen Lost*Jimmy Bohm (4L)Will Fausel (4L)
Wide ReceiversReturning LettermenXavier Bowman, Jr., 6-1, 203 (2L)Nnamdi Gwacham, Jr., 6-3, 203 (2L)*Otis Nelson, Sr., 6-4, 214 (3L)Omar Sawyer, Jr., 5-9, 183 (2L)
Lettermen LostTerrell Richards (4L)*Kevin Robinson (4L)
FullbacksReturning LettermenJacob Actkinson, So., 6-0, 226 (1L)^Chris Forbes, Sr., 5-11, 203 (3L)
Lettermen LostJosh Anderson (4L)*Jimmy Bohm (4L)
TailbacksReturning LettermenCurtis Marsh, So., 5-11, 194 (1L)*Derrvin Speight, So., 5-9, 207 (1L)#Derrick Cumbee, Sr., 6-1, 214 (2L)
Lettermen LostAaron Lesue (2L)
QuarterbacksReturning LettermenJase McCormick, Jr., 6-1, 190 (1L)
Lettermen Lost*Leon Jackson III (4L)
* - indicates 2007 starter^ - moving from tailback# - moved from linebacker