LOGAN, Utah -

Utah State football head coach Matt Wells, along with senior defensive end B.J. Larsen and junior wide receiver JoJo Natson held a press conference on Monday to preview its upcoming bowl game with UTEP. A complete transcript of Wells', Larsen's and Natson's remarks can be found below.

Head Coach Matt Wells
Opening Comments:
"It's bowl week. It's game week, finally. It's been a good break, very productive in terms of getting a lot of our veterans rested, physically as well as mentally. We're getting some good developmental work in with our young kids. I thought we had four really solid practices last week. We were physical and getting back into it, getting back into football game shape after some time off with some of those vets. I think that was good. We had most of the weekend to relax, and here we go. It's Monday of game week, so we have a normal schedule for us Monday through Thursday as far as practice is concerned. We'll travel, obviously, on Wednesday. We'll practice here Wednesday morning, travel down late morning, early afternoon to Albuquerque, then we'll have our Thursday practice there at New Mexico and the Lobo practice field."

On UTEP:
"The more I watch UTEP, one of the biggest reasons for their turnaround is their offensive line and their run game. The five big boys up front come off the football. They get together and do a really good job. (Nathan) Jeffery and (Aaron) Jones are a good one-two punch at running back. One's physical, the other one has some speed and some shiftiness. I think they both run with really good vision. They're a little bit different physically, but they're both in their own right very, very good backs. I think defensively, they create some issues for you because of all the man coverage and all the pressure packages they bring, so we'll have to be on top of our game. Our wide receivers will have to have a really good game in a lot of man coverage, and Kent (Myers) will have to be really on point."

"The other thing that sticks out to me is they have two explosive returners, #6 (Damian Payne) and #8 (Autrey Golden). Those guys can take one to the garage. I mean those guys can go. They can hit home runs in the punt return and kickoff return game. We're going to have to be really good in our coverage units to bottle those two guys up and not let them get started. Because when they get started, they can go. (Golden) is a guy that they use in the offense as kind of a specialty kind of role as a reverse guy and a guy they like to get the ball to out on the perimeter, and he's got some juice. They have some talent, they have skill and I think their big guys do a really, really good job up front. This will be a tremendous challenge for us. They're very well-coached. You can see that they're disciplined. You see that in their kicking game. I think they give great effort. It's always a great compliment to me when you say that, and I mean that, as far as their kicking game, they give tremendous effort. You don't see them making silly plays or mistakes or penalties or anything like that. I think they're very well-coached, which is the other big influence in their turnaround from two wins to seven wins. We'll have our hands full. We need to have a great week of preparation, then when we get there, we'll focus on the task at hand as well as having a good time at the bowl game and all that kind of stuff."

On what he sees from UTEP's Autrey Golden that makes him a great returner:
"He has good vision. He has courage to hit a seam when it's not very wide, width-wise. It's kind of like `Days of Thunder,' when the car's coming through and it's all smoky, and you can't see what's on the other side. You're trusting what's in your ears and your headset, that's what he does. He has courage, and he hits that sucker. You spit him out, and he has some juice to make you pay on the other side, so we have to do a good job of bottling him up."

On the special teams matchup against UTEP:
"Usually in bowl games and tight games, special teams play a big role whether it's the return game or a block or something where you're stealing another possession."

On the play of UTEP's kicker/punter Jay Mattox:
"He's doing a good job in both roles. He has a good, live leg. He gets pretty decent hang time on it. It looks like to me he places the ball pretty well. There's not a high percentage of return balls."

On the year that UTEP's running back Aaron Jones has had and what he sees in him:
"You don't have to have size to be great. He's a really good back; a 12 or 1,300-yard rusher. Again, I think he's a product of that offensive line. They've opened up holes, he does a good job of running behind his pads, he has good vision and he's a weapon. They've done it against some good opponents, too. He has vision. He sticks his foot and he can slash and push the pile at times. The Jeffery kid's a bit thicker, but you don't rush for 1,200 yards and not be physical and push a pile. The guy can do that, and he's a good, solid running back."

On any similarities he sees in UTEP's team this year and Utah State's 2011 team both ending their bowl droughts:
"There may be some similarities in that. I hadn't thought about that, but I can see some similarities in that, especially with the location of the bowl game. I'm sure they're going to have a lot of fans there because it's not too far from El Paso; it's right up the interstate there. It was a longer drought for us, being in a bowl game in 2011 than them. They were in one five years ago. But absolutely there are some similarities, especially with the bowl game invite and the location of that. That's a good analogy."

His thoughts on UTEP's quarterback Jameill Showers:
"Jameill has done a good job. They don't ask him to open it up and throw it like crazy, because the strength of their football team is that running game, those two backs and that tight end. He has some quickness, he throws it well on the run, and he won some games for them. He won seven games, and I think he's done a good job leading them. When the throws have presented themselves, down in the red zone especially, he's able to give them some good balls. I think he's done a good job."

On senior linebacker Zach Vigil close to breaking the school and Mountain West tackles for loss records:
"That would be neat. Jermaine (Younger) has had that record for a while, t's time to pass that torch to someone else, don't tell him I said that. Jermaine was a great linebacker. I had the chance to play with him for two years. If those two records fall, as well as the Mountain West record, I think it's icing, well it's not even icing, it's probably candles on the cake for him or sprinkles or whatever you call it. It's not even icing on the cake, that's the All-American distinction that he earned and is very deserving of and the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. You ask the kid, all he's worried about is winning a bowl game. That's what's cool about him. He cares more about his teammates and our team success more than he does his individual success. I encourage that. And I want them to have individual goals and aspirations that are very selfish in nature, within a team concept. He epitomizes that greatly because I know he has individual goals and aspirations and dreams well past Utah State, and I want those guys to have a drive, an inner drive, and a competitiveness to excel and to reach those goals. If enough of those individuals in this complex reach those goals, we're going to have a really good team. That's the way I look at it. He is not selfish outwardly; I want him to be selfish inwardly with those goals, and I think if he breaks a couple more records on the way out, it's awesome. He doesn't need those two records for me to say, `yeah, he's one of the best.' There's no question he's one of the best to ever play here in my opinion. He doesn't need those two records to legitimize that."

On UTEP's defense:
"I think they're a solid defense. Their `MO' is to pressure quite a bit, and they play a lot of man coverage. They play with one safety back there; they play with zero safeties. At times they have you outnumbered in the box, and so you have to be able to take advantage when you have advantages. You have to be able to take advantage of the numbers. There's going to be times where they call a good play against a not-so-good play, and they're going to come out on top because of those pressure packages they have."

On how UTEP's defense compares to any defenses freshman quarterback Kent Myers has faced so far this year:
"They're different structurally a little bit. It's more 4-2-5. They play with a nickel. A little bit different structurally up front, but they pressure maybe as often as Hawai'i does. It's just completely different. It looks different, but percentage-wise they pressure quite a bit."

On the importance of getting 10 wins:
"It's extremely important. There's no question that the possibility of getting to 10 wins and the possibility of winning three-straight bowl games is a big-time motivation for us. It's never been done here before, three straight. Ten wins will be the second-most amount of wins in this program's history. Each of us that were here two years ago to be a part of that, that's something that we'll have for a long time. We're doing a lot of things that have never been done before in Utah State football, and those two are right there at the top of that list. Those are extremely motivating factors. The ability to send the seniors out with a win, three-straight bowl wins, is high motivation. There's no question that our number one focus this week, and once we get to Albuquerque, will be to win a game. There's no doubt. Our guys are very motivated, as well, to get the bad taste out of their mouth after the last game, too."

On whether it's different and if there's more pressure in recruiting now with the run of success and television exposure Utah State has had recently:
"The only thing that puts pressure on me is the unrelenting expectations of you guys, and anybody else in the fan base, but there's nobody that's going to put more pressure on us than our coaches within this building. As far as recruiting is concerned, I think it's important to understand that your net may be broader and it may be a little wider than you can cast because of your national visibility, you played well on ESPN and won, and how well we're playing. The bottom line is that our recruiting philosophy isn't going to change. I'm not going to be concerned with who's offered a kid. We're going to start with in-state first. The LDS Mission is going to be a big part of our recruiting philosophy, it always will be. The Polynesian pipeline is big. Some junior college players when it matters and when it's merited as far as depth issues. And we're going to recruit the states outside of Utah the same way we've been recruiting them because it's worked. I'm not going to get away from the fact that if we really think a kid's our kind of guy, and he's going to fit in here, and we're the only ones to offer him, I don't need other people to validate what we think. We're very confident in our ability. To me, the premise of Utah State football will always be recruit and develop, recruit and develop. Part of that recruiting is thinking outside the box, and being abnormal in some of the ways you do recruit with different types of people, but being very confident in your evaluation of kids. That's not going to change. We're not going to go after a higher profile or more stars or this or that. If a kid can't communicate, he's not smart and he's not tough and he doesn't fit in our system, we're not going to take him. I don't care where he is. Our recruiting philosophy isn't going to change from that standpoint."

On what positions he's looking to fill through junior college right now:
"Well, we want to try to bring in a junior college running back, try to bring in a junior college offensive lineman or two, possibly even a safety. We'll see if we end up hitting on those. There's time we also have a best available category going on that gives me a little wiggle room."

On the statement the Mountain West can make with some bowl wins:
"Obviously, if we can all find a way to win, I think all it does is solidify the idea out there that the Mountain West Conference is the best non-Power Five conference out there in America. That's my belief. I'm very, very biased. I think our division is the toughest, also, but if we can back that up by winning games against some of the opponents we're playing, then I think it validates it on a national scene."

Senior Defensive End B.J. Larsen
Opening Comments:
"Going into this bowl game, it's my fourth one, it's a neat experience to be able to go down to Albuquerque. We went down there last year, so it'll be a neat experience to go down there for a bowl game. I'm excited to see what they have planned for us for what we're doing in our off time. That time we'll be able to kind of cross over with UTEP and get to know the other team personally before we play against them. I'm looking forward to it; it'll be a great experience. Bowl games are really a prize at the end of a year for a great season, and we're all looking forward to it."

On UTEP:
"Offensively, UTEP is pretty dynamic. They have a pretty good quarterback. He's pretty mobile, not as mobile as some quarterbacks we've played in the past, but he's able to move around. They really like to run the ball, and as a defense, that's what we've been good at stopping, especially in the beginning of the season. We've tapered off a bit toward the end of the season. It's really our job, and a pride issue, to get that back. We've been a top-10 run defense for the last three years, and we want to get back to that status, absolutely. This is a chance to get back to that and prove that we are that caliber of a team, which I know were are and we've proven in the past. As far as the plays they run, they may change it a little bit, depending on how they look at our film, but from what we've seen, they like the read zone and the option and stuff like that. It's really our job to stop them and make sure we're able to keep them to minimum yards, running-wise, so we can make then a one-dimensional team and pass, then we can get our pass rush on. Not that we're counting stats, but we're top five in the nation in sacks, so we'd like to keep that going, and keep that identity as well."

On what he sees on their offensive line and how they compare to another team USU has faced this year:
"There's talent everywhere in Texas. They're going to have the size. Obviously, it's a lower-tier university as far as Texas goes, so they aren't going to be as athletic as some of the bigger schools in Texas, but they have the size, so that's something we're going to have to take into consideration. To compare to a team we've played this year, I'd have to go with Wake Forest. Wake Forest had a big offense line, but I feel like we were more athletic and more physical than they were."

On what he thinks makes the UTEP running backs so special:
"They just run hard. They run down hill. UTEP is similar in nature to Utah State. It's a blue-collar program. You know you get guys that are there to work hard, and they want to get some `W's. They're willing to do everything they can to get that. They're athletic, they're pretty fast, but more than anything, they just run hard, so that's something we'll have to take into consideration."

On whether the fact that it's UTEP's first bowl game in five years adds motivation for them:
"Absolutely. That's icing on the cake for them, especially to have this reward. The seniors are going to be getting everyone going. They will have a good game, I know they will. They'll come out to play. It's pretty close to El Paso, so I'm sure they'll have some fans that will make the trip. It's a neat experience, a special experience. The first time we did it, we definitely put forth that extra effort."

If the extra break has given them a break to rehab physically:
"Towards the end of the season, everyone in the country is a little beat up. You have dings and bruises. I wouldn't say that was what contributed to us not stopping the run as well as we have in years past as well as the beginning of the season. I think it's just we needed time to refocus. What's in the past is in the past. We've moved on from that and learned from that. We need to hunker down and get back to where we were in the run. I think we need to be more physical. We also need to just hustle more. We need to have everyone swarming to the ball. If the first guy misses a tackle, he needs to know he has three, four, five teammates right behind him who are going to make the tackle for him. We need to play 100% and play as fast and physical as you possibly can."

On the emotions of wanting to play again after the Boise State game:
"Emotions run high towards the end of the season, especially in games as high-caliber as that. Emotions will run high for this game, too. It's going to be, for us seniors, the last time we're in an Aggie uniform, and we're going to want to go out with a bang. We're going to want to go out with a `W'. There won't be any lack of emotional investment in the game, and I think that will help us to play at a higher level, play at a more physical level, and more than anything, play fast and make sure that we finish through tackles."

Junior Wide Receiver JoJo Natson
Opening Comments:
"Last week started off with our bowl preparation, and we got out there three days in a row. Two days were heavy and one day was light. We are preparing for the game just like any other game. Coaches are getting us ready schematically, and the players are practicing really hard."

On UTEP:
"UTEP's defense, as far as our offense goes, we're preparing for a lot of blitzes. They heat up the offense a lot, and they play a lot of man. As a receiver, and my fellow receivers, we feel like we have to make plays out on the perimeter. It's going to be a physical game. They have a pretty good defensive line and linebackers, but I feel like their strongest group is their defensive backs. It's going to be a great challenge for us receivers, I feel like."

His thoughts on their defensive backs:
"They have some good, athletic guys back in the tail end of the defense. I feel like it will be a good matchup because we have some good guys at the receiver spot, as well."

On the injury he sustained against Boise State:
"I just tweaked my knee, it was a hyper-extension. I'll be ready for Saturday. I wanted to get back in the game in Boise, but coach (Jovon) Bouknight told me he didn't want me to, and to be safe."

On the idea of two very good special teams units meeting on the field:
"I know their punt team is going to keep it away from me, but the coaches have been getting us ready all week, and finding ways to try to hold up the punt team to try to get me loose on punt return. I'm excited for special teams this week as well as offense."

On UTEP's defensive back Wesley Miller:
"He flies all over the field. On film, you can automatically tell who he is just by how he plays. Every tackle he's there or he's around the tackle. We've been scheming up around him all week. I feel like we have a pretty good game plan. We're going to get after him, but at the same time, we have to play around the offense and go from there. We should have a productive day on offense."

On whether bowl games feel different than regular season games:
"I feel like just with my experience, my first year just the activities starting throughout the week before the bowl game, that's a pretty big deal. Then playing another team from another conference was the biggest thing for me. It's going to be a lot of trash talking. They're coming from a different conference, and that's the biggest thing to me."

On what he will tell freshman running back LaJuan Hunt and freshman quarterback Kent Myers to get them ready for the bowl game:
"I'll tell them that basically it's like another game. We're putting on equipment another week. We're just thankful to be in a bowl game. I'll tell them to go out there just like you do in other games. Go out there and relax, have fun. Bowl games are a reward for having a good season. Go out there and have as much fun as you would if we were playing a week two game. That's what I'll tell them."

On the differences between defenses playing zone and man coverages:
"I would say the biggest challenge for me is they're saying their defensive backs match up better than our receivers. We just see it as a challenge, a challenge saying we want the ball more than you guys."

On returning back to Albuquerque:
"I got my first punt return there, should have had two, but they called one back. I hope luck's on my side again so I can get another one. I'm hoping for the best."