LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head football coach Matt Wells, along with redshirt senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton and junior linebacker Nick Vigil, held a press conference Monday to open the 2015 season and preview the season-opener against Southern Utah. A complete transcript of the press conference can be found below.

Head Coach Matt Wells
Previewing Southern Utah:
"It's good to get to game week. Internally for our staff and our players, we actually started that last Thursday, so today is basically Wednesday for us from a practice schedule standpoint and game-planning standpoint. It's good to get into that mode. I have a lot of respect for Ed Lamb and the longevity of what he's done there. The coordinators are experienced, especially coach (Gary) Crowton. You know that you're going to get a prepared team that comes in here. They've been preparing for us for quite some time, as well as we have been preparing for them. Southern Utah is a team that has some senior leaders on it that should be very confident because they've played well as individuals. You start with (quarterback) Ammon (Olsen), who has a big, strong accurate arm. He's a kid that may have a future past this year. He can really throw it and is really accurate, so we're going to have to disrupt some timing and get to him. There's no question we're going to have to land on some of those pass rushes. Defensively, (defensive end James) Cowser is good and he reminds me a lot of Connor Williams for us. He plays extremely hard and that's what our guys have noticed. We're going to have to do a good job of blocking him and knowing where he's at, at all times. We have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do."

On Utah State's keys to the game:
"It's going to be exciting to watch our guys come together. On offense, you have to play as one and that's how you defeat a bunch of individuals on defense. You have to play as one, whether you're playing Southern Utah, next week's opponent or a Mountain West game, it doesn't matter. For an offense to be very efficient, you must play as one, so that will be a big goal for us, as well as being physical and establishing the run. Those are things we expect to do. Defensively, we're going to have to get pressure on the quarterback and there's no question about that. You've got to disrupt timing and you've got to disrupt lanes. Before you do any of that, you've got to stop the run. Everything that our defense is always predicated on is stopping the run. Those are the keys to the game to me. We're excited about playing and hopefully it will be a packed house. I know the students are excited, so it will be fun to get them all riled up and loud in Maverik Stadium on Thursday night."

On SUU playing well after moving up a division:
"They've won two games in the last four years against Division I teams and we're fully aware of it. I made our players aware of that last Tuesday, they've heard it from me every day and they're going to hear it again today at our team meeting. I've been told there has been 40 wins in the last four years of FCS beating FBS teams. Out of those 40 wins, Southern Utah has two of them. That tells you right there that they'll show up and play. It always happens early in the year, usually the first couple of weeks, and there's no question we'll have to be ready."

On if the offensive starters have played the way he's wanted them to during fall camp:
"Yeah, I think they've had a good camp. They've gone up against a really good defensive front, as well as outside linebackers the way we play our defense. There has been a lot of give and take. They haven't won every single match in training camp, which is good if you're the head coach, but not good if you're the O-line coach. But, they're blocking some really good pass rushers. Nick Vigil and Kyler Fackrell can rush the passer. Ricky Ali'ifua and Jordan Nielsen can rush the passer. I do believe they've come together as one, but we'll see how they play Thursday night. I'm excited to watch them play as one unit."

On comparing Chuckie Keeton to what he his today versus what he was before he got hurt against BYU:
"You have a smarter quarterback, not that he wasn't smart then. But, two more years of experience and seeing things from a different perspective has given him some different insight into why coaches call things and why the offense works this way, as well as an expanded knowledge outside of just what his read is and what the running back is doing in this pass protection, and all that. You've got a better leader because he has earned the right to be heard more and more and that has been earned through his diligence, through being present, even in injury. You can see his heartfelt emotion, his heartfelt care and concern for his teammates the last two years, even after the injury. To me, that earns you the right to be a leader. You'll see a more determined player because he knows it's his last time around and he's been given a chance to do it again. You value playing time, you value games, you value reps a whole lot more when something is taken from you."

On not having a 1,000-yard rusher in 2014:
"It was the first year since I've been here that we didn't have one, although I think our yards-per-carry at the end of the year came a lot of different ways. Sometimes it didn't look as nice as you all wanted it to look, but we were efficient as the year went on. If we run the ball well enough to have a 1,000-yard rusher for a single individual, then that's great. That's not a goal, though. I feel good about where LaJuan (Hunt) is at coming out of camp. He's had a really good camp and the others have had their moments in camp. But again, the proof is in the pudding on game day. Game day is a whole other bird, so we'll see how they respond and how well they do."

On how he'd like to see the physicality of the receivers carry over into games:
"That is usually manifested not only in run blocking, but in perimeter screens. It shows up in taking a 10-yard gain to a 30- or 40-yard gain, hitting home runs. That's been an emphasis of playing physical on offense. It's not just the front five plus the back and the tight ends, it's playing physical with the receivers also. We've shown them examples of that in years past and that's what coach (Jovon) Bouknight wants them to do, and it's definitely what coach (Josh) Heupel wants them to be. They've done a good job of that, but it'll show itself in small gains to big gains and first downs that lead to explosives, whether it's a pass or a run."

On if he's wanted to be able to say that across the board this team is much more physical on offense:
"Absolutely. At times it will involve the quarterback, but most of the time it won't. It's every position ââ'¬" tight end, receiver, running back and O-line ââ'¬" being a physical offense, having a physical mindset and knowing you want to take a toll on your opponent come the second half in the fourth quarter."

On if the place-kicking battle will be ongoing throughout the season:
"It has been close and we're going to talk to those guys (Jake Thompson and Brock Warren) today. I feel good about where those guys are. They've kicked well in camp. Jake Thompson will handle our kickoffs, (Aaron) Dalton will handle all the punts, DJ Nelson will be the holder, Salanoa Galea'i will be the long snapper and the short snapper."

On if he has decided who the kick returners will be:
"It will be a little bit by committee. Jalen (Davis) will handle the punts right now, but you may see (Zach) Van Leeuwen and Andrew Rodriguez back there at times. Kickoff return, you'll see Jalen, Kennedy Williams, LaJuan Hunt, so we'll kind of rotate that a little bit early in the year."

On the likelihood of Kennedy Williams playing both wide receiver and running back:
"He's going to play both spots. There will be different times that the game plan will dictate that. He's able to play both spots and you've seen him play both spots."

Redshirt Senior Quarterback Chuckie Keeton
On the new season:
"Football is back. It was a fun camp, but I'm glad everything is over with and now I can get back into the thought process of going against an opponent versus just going against our defense. Throughout the entire camp, guys were stepping up, guys were working as hard as they could and we're in a place we want to be. We have some growth that we need to do, but at the same time we haven't been able to test ourselves against any outside competition. It should be fun this Thursday and I look forward to the opportunity of playing against Southern Utah again."

On his comfort level with four returning starters on the offensive line:
"It's definitely very comforting. I have a pretty good relationship with all of those guys, so there's a high trust factor and there's a lot of confidence. I've seen how they've all prepared, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping they can give me a lot of time to keep me safe. Austin (Stephens) has been doing a great job and is a kid that has picked up the game, picked up the scheme and everything that we do so well. He takes a lot of pride in it, as well, and the biggest thing about him is he's the captain of those guys. He takes a lot of pride in not just carrying the flag for the first team, but the entire offensive line room."

On the difference between last year at this time and now:
"Last year I was thinking about how I used to feel as far as, 'Okay, I can still move the same way, I can get in and out of cuts, I can still take the same drop, the same explosion.' This year, I didn't really try and take that same mentality because if you're doing the same things, you're not getting any better. My thought was I'm going to compare myself to what I want to be, so this past year, I've been squatting a lot more, I've been doing a lot more lower body things without restrictions than I did the previous year. The biggest thing was I was comparing myself to what I wanted to be."

On what the strength of the offense will be:
"The biggest thing is our physicality. We've had some physical teams in the past, but it was more of just an individual approach some guys took and they just spread it throughout their entire group. One was the O-line and our receivers, especially Matt Austin. For the time I've been here, he was pioneering the nasty and physical nature of just playing. He was trying to knock out a linebacker if he could and brag about it. That was back then, but now, it's a team aspect. I don't want to say we've had fights or altercations, but we've had heated moments during practices because the defense is always going to play hard and tough, and the offense is not going to back down. The offense will push back and fight back, so the biggest thing now is knowing we can control what we're going to do. We're going to be physical in between the whistles and afterward, we're going to get our minds right for the next play. After a while, that's going to take a toll on other teams and hopefully, it will give us an edge."

On getting the opportunity to play in front of Aggie fans for the fifth straight season:
"It's incredible. I don't know what everyone's specific goals are or what their story might be, but I never really thought this would happen for me coming into college. I'm extremely privileged to be able to do it. We've got some great fans and we've got a great team, so being able to be put in a position to lead them is a tremendous opportunity. That means I have to step my game up a little bit more as far as preparation and being able to lead the others, and make sure they're ready to come at the exact same level."

On if it's a non-factor to get into a game and get hit for the first time after the way workouts are run:
"It's really no big deal after a while. I've talked to a lot of guys at different offensive positions and every one has a little bit of nerves going into the first game, the first play specifically. I always ask, 'How long does it take for you to shake the nerves off?' For me, it's never the first hit or the first completion or the first three plays. Sometimes it can go until the first touchdown, it can go until the second drive. It doesn't really matter, though. It's all football at the end of the day."

On the growth the team needs to do:
"At the end of the day, a game and practice are two completely different things. In practice, everything is scripted, but we don't know exactly what's going to happen. But, you kind of catch on after a while. In a game, things can change at the blink of an eye. For example, a player you can be looking for the entire time, he can get hurt on the first play and that actually happened against Toledo a couple of years ago. He can be gone and then the entire defense can change; they can change the entire schemed if they wanted to. My biggest thing is seeing how guys are going to adapt in a game-like situations. I have a lot of trust in these guys, so I'm excited to see how they're going to step up and I know they will."

On SUU's defense:
"They definitely have some good players on defense. That's the thing with every single defense, they're always going to have some good players. But at the same time, we're not just playing against them, we have to play against an entire unit. That's how we plan on playing, as well. An offense is 11 guys working together as one, so if we take care of everything that we do, everything that we can handle, it will cancel out the talented players that they may have."

On if he still thinks this is the best team he's seen at USU following fall camp:
"Yeah, I definitely do. For me, it's more of what everyone has invested that really sets it apart. With that being said, you're going to carry a whole lot more pride in what you do and you're going to try and step up a little bit more to prove that what you put in was really worth it. On top of that, we do have some talented guys on offense, defense and in the kicking game. Once we put it all together, it can make for something very special."

Junior Linebacker Nick Vigil
On recapping fall camp:
"I'm glad fall camp is over and glad to be scheming against somebody else other than the offense for a whole month. I'm excited to get the season underway. We've come a long way as far as a defense and as a team. We've had a lot of guys step up in some roles we really needed them to and solidify those roles as starters and role players. I'm excited to see what we can do this season."

On how excited he is to prove how good the defense is against other teams:
"We did a good job in fall camp against our offense and we know how good our offense is with all the returners we have and all the skill players we have. It's exciting to see what we can do against other teams when we get going."

On what players have stood out to him on the defensive side of the ball:
"The defensive line was probably the most impressive this fall camp. Ricky Ali'ifua, David Moala, Jordan Nielsen and young guys like Gasetoto Schuster. After the car accident, and with all the guys we lost, they did the best job of stepping up and having a really good fall camp."

On SUU's offense:
"Their quarterback is a good player. He has a good completion percentage, he's smart with the ball, he can run it, so you have to be disciplined when they run their read-option plays. He's very accurate when he gets hot and has very good games, so we're going to have to try and get some pressure on him with the D-line and linebackers, and then the secondary is going to have to play well."

On SUU's run game:
"They were pretty much a passing team all of last year. First, second and third down, they like to throw it around a lot. As far as our defense, our main goal every game is to stop the run and try and make teams one-dimensional. If we can do that, we have a good chance."

On if the defense can have an even better year in 2015:
"We'll have to see as the season goes on. Every year it's different for every defense. Last year, we did a good job of coming together with all the injuries and guys stepping up. When you get a guy back like Kyler Fackrell with his ability to be able to move from position to position, to be able to get pressure on the quarterback and how versatile he is, it's huge. Jalen Davis had a great freshman year, so we'll see if he can repeat that this year."

On facing former high school teammates who now play for SUU:
"There are a bunch of them I played with in high school. They're good friends of mine and I've known them for quite a while. It'll be exciting to see them. I haven't seen most of them because a lot of them went on missions and came back, so it'll be exciting to play against them."