LOGAN, Utah -

Utah State football head coach Matt Wells held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the 2015 Signing Class. A complete transcript of Wells' remarks can be found below.

Head Coach Matt Wells
Opening comments on signing class:
"We were kidding around today, some people think it should be a national holiday, including my two kids that brought breakfast up here for us today. They wanted to skip school. What's cool about today is when you finally get to talk publically about a lot of the kids you've spent a lot of time recruiting. For us, in our staff, this is the third recruiting class that we've had spending the whole year on it. A lot of these kids we've recruited for a long, long time. It's fun to be able to finally talk about them publically and be able to announce them, talk about them and answer any questions about them."

"I think the biggest thing that stands out with me, with these kids that we're announcing today, is their length. If you look on there, I think there are two kids at 5'11" that they measured out during camps. Everybody else is long. Offensive line was a big need for us. As we look at our offensive line, we have five juniors in that class. We needed a couple young linebackers and a couple young receivers, and those four that are coming in, one of the linebackers, Daniel Langi being a mission kid that we'll get back in a couple years, but I think all four of those are very talented, young players. When I look at the offensive line, I'm very happy with that area because in a couple of years, that's going to be very depleted, so that needed to be a focus in this class, just like linebacker is going to be next year."

"The junior college kids that are in here right now, the four we've already announced them at break, they've been with Dave Scholz in the weight room going on four weeks because we start this semester so early. That's been the best thing, those four guys, along with Dallin Leavitt, the transfer, they've been going, and the four guys that are eligible are going to compete for immediate playing time on offense this spring. Devonte Mays at running back, Chris Copier at tight end, and (Preston) Brooksby and Jude (Hockel) on the offensive line. As we develop this program, junior college kids are always going to be a part of the foundation of this program because they're always going to be able to fill needs from a depth standpoint that maybe, through mission kids and some things, you may be waiting a year or two or a semester on some kids. The way the junior college kids fit into our equation will always be an important one. We won't base our classes off junior college kids, but they'll all play key roles and fill any needs."

"The other one that's a transfer, Ben Wysocki, that's the one that we're all excited about. We had him in last week on an official visit, and this was a perfect fit for him. He had a very good career at UCLA. He's played all three offensive line positions: tackle, guard and center, so he brings a lot of versatility. He's extremely smart. He's graduating there in March. Our offensive line guys got to know him really well this past weekend, and it was perfect. That guy will walk in, and just because of his versatility, will be able to compete pretty quickly in a number of spots. It will allow us some flexibility with our returners to put them in a good spot."

"I see offensive line and I see the two linebackers and the receivers, because of needs, as being key parts of this recruiting class. I'm never going to be the guy to sit here and tell you on signing day that you got everybody you wanted because that's never the case. If that's the case at Utah State, I'm not sure we're going after the right kids. We got some, we flipped some just like we did last year, which is always fun, the last 48 hours. Some kids chose to go play at other places. It's part of the process, but I'm always the guy that you're always more concerned today about the ones that are on that sheet of paper that we're going to talk about."

On how many scholarships the staff is holding onto right now:
"I'm not going to get into the specific numbers because you guys like doing the math, but there's parts of this class that's out there because of our abnormal recruiting. We have kids that we're counting in this class that we aren't going to release that, 10 of them played football at Utah State this past year and helped us win 10 games. They have to count because of our abnormal recruiting. We have it already going on next year, so if you want to say we have nine kids committed already in next year's class, it's technically a true statement. There are a couple that we're holding back, and I'm not going to get into specific numbers because things change, especially with missions, and you have to allow for some flexibility on kids coming back and kids leaving. There's flexibility on both ends with mission kids, and that usually affects those initial scholarships."

On how many student-athletes will be returning from missions this year:
"We have four coming back, actually five, whether they start first thing in August or they start in January will depend on their return date. Most of them will start come January. Those are kids that we signed our first year, two years ago."

On what he saw in Wade Meacham's raw talent:
"That kid can run. That's the first thing that caught our attention. We had him in camp last summer, and that was one of those camp stories where a kid measures out around 6'5" and he was 250, a little bit on the light side. He ran a 5.0 flat, maybe it was a 4.8, 4.9. That's the first thing that gets your attention is his athletic ability. He's able to run. He has a frame that will gain weight. He's had a tremendous wrestling career. My experience, especially coming from Oklahoma and how big wrestling is in Oklahoma, is I've never missed on a wrestler. I'm not saying every wrestler can play football, I'm just saying all the football players that are also good wrestlers are good. We don't miss on them. I'm a big believer in dual sport guys, and he's one of them. Coach (Mark) Weber finished up recruiting him and liked a lot of the leverage things he can do from that standpoint, watching one of his meets. That kid is going to go on a mission, and he's going to be a big kid. He's going to be a big human one day."

On his thoughts about Chad Artist:
"You know, Chad Artist, first of all, he goes back to what we say we want to do. We want to start in Cache Valley first and then we want to recruit in state. We signed, I think, six kids from Utah this year, and we got one from Cache Valley. Chad Artist is a kid with real speed. Right now, today, he's a one cut vertical guy. He can stick his toe in the ground and get vertical. He has really good hands. He's gaining weight right now. You saw what he ran in the 60m a week ago. That kid has a chance to be one of the top 60m guys in America, and he's a football player, too. He has real juice. We offered him early, and he had a lot of attention and committed early. I trust that kid. That kid stuck with us a long time. He told people `no' to begin with and he told people `no' as the year went on. Chad Artist is going to have a good career at Utah State. He's coming in at the right time. If you're a young receiver at Utah State, it's the right time to come in."

"Gerold Bright, the kid from Pensacola, Fla., a high school option quarterback, played a little receiver; he has really good hands and a lot of juice. He can run in space. They have good football down there at Escambia High School. Traditionally it's a very good school. He's a track guy. He's a guy that's in the mold of JoJo (Natson). He'll come in and play slot, and so to sign the two freshmen receivers, this is a good time with four senior receivers ahead of them. It's a good time to be a young receiver in this program."

On signing another quarterback in this class:
"Cade (Smith) will start in January. He's (former Wyoming quarterback) Brett's brother. Cade's a very athletic kid. He has a lot of moxey. He has a lot of intangibles that you don't see on the internet and that you can't really put a price tag on, either, in my opinion. I think a lot of that is important in that quarterback room. He'll fit in perfect. He threw the ball tremendously accurate, and he has a very strong arm. He threw it well on the run when we had him in camp this summer, and really liked him. He's a quality young man with a great family. You really can't say enough good things about him. He'll fit in with the rest of those guys. He's a winner and he has a lot of moxey, toughness and athletic ability about him."

On whether he can see Cameron Haney coming in and starting as a freshman the way Jalen Davis did last season:
"I don't know. That's a very fair question, although that's a very lofty expectation. I wouldn't put that on the kid, but I won't be the guy to put a frame around him and limit him, either. I think it's been proven around here if you're the best player, you're going to play. We've played plenty of 18 year-olds at almost every position. Since I've been a coach at Utah State we've played true freshmen. If they're the best player, they will play. His highlight tape, when you watch it, is very reminiscent of Jalen (Davis). It's very interesting. You see him returning kicks and it looks like Jalen. He may be a shade taller than Jalen, but body type, they're very similar. That's a kid that had other places to go in the Mountain West, and had a very tough choice and chose Utah State. We were very, very excited when we got that call last week. I think Cameron has a very bright future."

On his overall thoughts on the linebackers:
"I love them. We have three linebackers. First of all, let's talk about the kid from in-state, Daniel Langi from Bingham High School. We all know he's Harvey's brother, but this kid is a talented, tough, nasty linebacker. He's going on his mission. He comes from a great high school with great tradition, and another Bingham kid is coming to Utah State. We've had several. This guy is the nicest guy off the field, but he has a nasty disposition on the field. He's an inside linebacker. He could be a bench linebacker for us, but he's an inside linebacker. He has great vision. He plays through blockers and around blockers very well. He has a great feel for the box, and he finishes with a nasty disposition when he makes a tackle. I really like this guy. He has an unbelievable family. His mom has more juice than anybody I've ever been around; she's awesome. It's a great family with great support in that house."

"Joe Riggins. This kid has a bright future. It could be pretty quick. I don't know. If he's good enough to play early, we'll play him. I don't know where he's going to be, but this guy is an outside backer, he can play inside backer in the future because I think he has the ability to gain weight. He's a guy that could really probably play all four spots in our 3-4 defense. He's probably as close, and this is a really good compliment, to Maurice Alexander as I've seen on tape. This kid's got it. Jovon Bouknight did a great job recruiting him. The way that went in the last week and really the last 24 hours was awesome. His dad is big-time. He has a great family. We're excited to bring in another Florida kid; that's two Florida kids this year. Those guys get up here and our Florida boys, probably as well as any other state in our program, wrap their arms around these kids and they do all the recruiting when we get them on campus. JoJo (Natson) and LaJuan (Hunt, Jr.) did a great job with him when he was here on campus. I think he felt very comfortable continuing that Florida pipeline up here. This kid can run."

"Mason Tobeck, there's another one that turned down several other Mountain West schools and chose us. He came here last summer, he came on an unofficial in the season and committed in the season and then told several people `no' after he said `yes' to the Aggies. This kid, I really like him because he's a man of his word. He comes from a first-class family with a great mom and a great dad. Obviously, he has really good genes with his dad and his career, a great career, not only in college, but in the pros. He was a pro-bowler. He has tremendous support. This kid is a bench linebacker, he could be an inside linebacker, one day he may be a defensive end, I don' know. He keeps getting bigger and bigger. He continues to grow, and obviously his dad was an offensive lineman in the NFL. This kid is tough, blue-collar, runs the ball hard and plays with a chip on his shoulder. He's kind of like the Vigil brothers and (Kyler) Fackrell in that regard. He's a very smart player. This is a good time to be a young linebacker in this program, so all three of those linebackers I'm happy with."

On how he chooses what position a player who can play multiple positions will play:
"I'm always a believer of where they want to start, to start with. Where they feel comfortable. Dalton Baker will be a tight end, that's already decided. Mason (Tobeck) and Joe (Riggins), Coach (Kevin) Clune will watch them run around, especially the first day or so, and be able to try to plug them into a spot. Our linebackers, first of all, have to know all four spots. When they're young kids, we do try to hone them in on one spot so they can play sooner and try to help that learning curve. Number one, it'll be a combination of where they want to start, where they see themselves, and when we see our depth coming out of the spring, where our guys are. A lot of our veterans because of their knowledge and versatility can play multiple spots. These young kids will try to hone in on, from a depth chart standpoint, where they can compete with reps. You have to have reps to compete and see the field as a freshman. It'll be a combination of that and Coach Clune will have a big say in that."

On whether he thinks social media impacts de-committing:
"I do. You have some kids out there, and I'm not going to say many, but you have some kids out there that they just love reading their names. So they'll de-commit and retweet every fan or media person that mentions it. That's appealing to some, and while that bothers me because of the `I, I, I,' some of that is society, and I think social media encourages that. But I'm also not faulting social media. I use retweets and tweets to brand and market our program. Whether it's our graduation rates or how well our plays are playing or our young men that get selected for all-star games, it's promoting the program. It's a powerful tool. I do think that's probably been the cause with some of it because it seems like there's been more decommits this year than in others, but it's a big decision for these kids. Some kids handle it different, and some kids are getting different guidance at home. You move on. If they choose to go somewhere else, you move on. If they choose your place, if they're the right kid, then you're excited about it."

"I'm a broken record. I'll say it to parents, I'll say it to recruits, a lot of kids are jacked up, but we've won 30 games in three years and won three-straight bowl games. There's not one kid that we signed today, and there's not one kid that de-committed that had anything to do with those three rings and those 30 wins. The ones that de-commit, we just wish them good luck as they move on. I believe in the kids in that locker room, and I believe in the kids that we signed today that have stuck with us. Some of them have chosen to transfer. They've seen the light and they want to come to Utah State. We're happy to have them."

On any impact Kevin Clune and Josh Heupel have had in the last stages of recruiting:
"A little bit. Just like I said a their press conference, I think it was going to be minimized because when they got hired, we didn't have very many spots left. There weren't a tremendous amount of decisions in the last two weeks. I think they had a hand in maybe solidifying this kids, and the kids saying `no' to other schools. That doesn't get publicized a lot of times. Most kids don't get on Twitter and say, `I just turned down so-and-so again.' Did Josh Heupel, Kevin Clune and a lot of guys on our staff have a lot to do with that? I'd like to say they did because they were on the phone immediately with every kid that was committed to try to keep them. Sometimes, especially these days, keeping a commitment is harder than getting a commitment. We didn't get every kid that we wanted, but the kids we got are very quality young men and good players, and we're excited to get them."

On Viliamu Auwae:
"He is big, he's raw and he's athletic. We had seen him in the spring from his junior tape, then we saw him live at the All-Poly Camp this summer. Coach (Mark) Weber really liked him, and of course coach (Ikaika) Malloe has been recruiting him the whole time. He's a very athletic kid that had other opportunities. He chose here. I think he fell in love with Utah State and the culture here and our players. We're excited about Viliamu."

On whether he thinks any of the student-athletes have a chip on their shoulder:
"I think we have a lot of guys that have a chip on their shoulder. We hear that in recruiting and you like those guys. I think we have some guys in the locker room that have chips on their shoulder. I think we have some coaches in this building that feel like they have some stuff to prove. As a head coach, that's what you want. I want coaches that have something to prove and are motivated to learn and seek the best way to do something. I want players that feel overlooked or that this is the place that celebrates their blue-collar mentality, the football junky, the smartness and the versatility that maybe the other schools aren't valuing as high. That's the kid that we want that fits in this program."

On how draining recruiting can be for him now that he's the head coach:
"I'm the head coach so you have to recruit all of them. However, as the head coach, you don't go out as much. Obviously, we're winning and we're in those early bowl games in December, so we've actually lost days as a staff, recruiting in December. My days in December are limited. One or two days, and it's always a junior college mid-term, and you see their family and it's fast. You're back in bowl prep and you're practicing. In January, we would go out Sunday through Thursday. I was out every single day. I'm gone when the recruits leave campus Sunday morning, either here out of Logan or out of Salt Lake, coming back Friday, and here are the next kids on an official. I love it though. I enjoyed it as an assistant. I enjoy the ability to present Utah State. You don't even have to sell Utah State and as an alumni, it's easy for me. I bleed Aggie blue. I know a lot about this place. I don't know everything, but I sure know a lot. And if I don't know something, I know the right person to call. When you're winning 30 games, three-straight bowl games and you're one of four teams across the country that can say that, it gets people's attention. People see how well we play on ESPN and the bowl games, so I think you have a little of it paved out before you walk in the living room. But it is draining. You're tired. You spend a lot of time on the phone. Our assistants do it more than I do. For me, it's just more intensified and focused at the very end for the last three weeks. If you don't love it and you're not good at it, there's going to be a new head coach up here. Hopefully we can keep getting the right kids in and keep winning games."

On only having one player from Texas in this recruiting class:
"We have a few more usually. Sometimes that stuff happens. Sometimes you end up offering a kid in a different state or in-state, and they accept it first before another kid. That can happen, and last year I think we had four from Texas. Devonte (Mays) is a Texas high school player and from Blinn Junior College, which is one of the best junior colleges in America, every year. I think he's a big back that will come in and compete right now. He gives us a big back presence. Hopefully he'll run behind his pads and be a strong runner. I know he has good hands, and his want-to is there. I wouldn't read too much into only having one Texas guy, it just kind of fell that way."

On what Chris Copier brings to Utah State:
"First of all, Chris Copier is an in-state junior college kid. He brings length. He brings the ability to play an in-line tight end. I know he has good hands. Right now, I know from what he's done in junior college that he's a short to mid-range play-action guy. We'll see how much of vertical threat he's going to be. He's a big in-line guy that gives us some versatility, hopefully with some personnel packages to be able to play some more tight ends. We'll see where he fits in the scheme with Wyatt (Houston) and Landon (Horne)."