LOGAN, Utah - Mark Hutchinson does not know when his number will be called. Or if it will ever be called. But if it does, you can rest assured he will be ready.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound senior from Corona, Calif., serves as Utah State's backup long snapper. It's a position he's held since walking on in 2011, when he redshirted his first season with the Aggies.

"I don't know when I'm going to get a rep, don't know when I'm going to be able to go in the game," Hutchinson said. "I've just got to always be ready. You never know when it's going to happen."

Having never played a snap in college, Hutchinson admits it's tough, but he appreciates being a part of this program.

"It's a brotherhood," Hutchinson said. "We're all close and it's been a real honor to be on this team the past five years and seeing what everyone has accomplished."

Hutchinson backs up fellow senior Salanoa Galea'i. Three of his best qualities as a long snapper is he has good velocity, is very accurate and reliable.

"The biggest thing for me with Mark is reliability and trust," Utah State special teams coordinator/running backs coach Dave Ungerer said. "He's the kind of guy we can't do without, even though he hasn't played a snap yet. When and if he ever does get in a game, it would be very important to us, so we have to really believe that if something happened to Salanoa that we could go on without a hitch in something that is very critical for us.

"It's kind of like being the backup quarterback," Ungerer continued. "It's such a critical position, but you don't get the reps the same as a starter does, you don't get the accolades or the playing time, but your role is gigantic."

Galea'i knows how important Hutchinson is to the success of the team, even if it doesn't show up in a box score or the headlines.

"He's ready when you need him and he'll always be on call," Galea'i said. "He's somebody who is really reliable."

Ungerer continued to rave about Hutchinson's reliability and dedication to working hard every single day in practice.

"He goes out there every day and practices hard, and is ready to go in there," Ungerer said. "He understands his role and that he can be in there in the blink of an eye. He's got to be ready to go, and be ready to go in a crucial scenario like a game-winning field goal. He needs to be consistent each and every day so that when he does get his reps in practice, he's executing at a high level.

"There is a difference between him and Salanoa. It's not a lot, but there is a difference. It's not like we haven't talked about it or he hasn't seen it. We chart the snappers, we chart their accuracy and we chart their times, so there is data there that he can look at. In that, he still works on a daily basis and to me, that's a tremendous attribute."

Hutchinson's hard work during his time at Utah State certainly has not gone unnoticed. After all, head coach Matt Wells awarded him a scholarship following a practice earlier this season.

"I was ecstatic," Hutchinson said. "It was awesome. I immediately wanted to tell my parents so they knew."

Ungerer was thrilled for Hutchinson.

"That is very typical of Utah State and the type of program we are, and how coach Wells does things," Ungerer said. "Mark has done everything we've asked for a long time. He doesn't say a word and just keeps grinding. It's a tremendous attribute of his and I'm glad he got the reward for it. It's something he'll never forget."

The son of Ed and Nancy Hutchinson was a three-year letterwinner at Santiago High School in Corona, Calif., as both a linebacker and long snapper. He was tabbed the Sharks' special teams MVP.

Hutchinson, who enjoys golfing in his spare time, is majoring in sociology with a criminal justice minor. He is on track to graduate in December and wants to pursue a career in law enforcement.