LOGAN, Utah - Prior to opening up fall camp on Friday, Utah State football players and coaches met with the media as the Aggies held their annual media day on Thursday afternoon.

The Aggies, who were picked to finish second in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West this season, return 15 starters (O-8, D-7) and 39 lettermen (O-12, D-25, S-2) from last year's team that went 10-4 overall, finished tied for second in the Mountain Division with a 6-2 record and ended the season with a 21-6 win against UTEP in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

At season's end, Utah State received 11 top-25 votes in the final Associated Press poll and eight votes in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll to rank 32nd and 34th, respectively.

Highlighting Utah State's returners is junior LB Nick Vigil, who earned first-team all-Mountain West honors a year ago. Joining Vigil as returning all-conference players from 2014 are senior DE Jordan Nielsen (honorable mention), senior WR Hunter Sharp (honorable mention), junior FS Devin Centers (honorable mention), junior OT Jake Simonich (honorable mention) and junior OC Austin Stephens (honorable mention), while sophomore CB Jalen Davis was named a true freshman All-American by 247Sports.

Utah State also returns redshirt senior QB Chuckie Keeton and senior LB Kyler Fackrell, who was tabbed the Mountain West Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Keeton earned first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as a sophomore in 2012 and was a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury in his sixth game. Keeton then received a medical hardship from both the NCAA and Mountain West as he played in just three games in 2014 before reinjuring his knee.

Fackrell earned second-team all-Mountain West honors as a sophomore in 2013, along with being named a sophomore honorable mention All-American by College Football News, and earned first-team all-WAC honors as a redshirt freshman along with being named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) in 2012.

Over the last three years, Utah State is one of just four Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools to win at least 30 games and three bowl games, along with Clemson, Michigan State and Oregon. Furthermore, the Aggies have played in four-straight bowl games, winning each of the last three, both of which are school records.

Utah State will open the 2015 season on Thursday, Sept. 3, at home against Southern Utah at 7 p.m. and will begin Mountain West play on Saturday, Oct. 3, at home against Colorado State.

The Aggies will officially begin fall camp on Friday with their first practice from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. on the USU practice field located between the football stadium and the indoor practice facility. All practices during fall camp, which concludes on Saturday, Aug. 29, are open to the public.

Practices on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7-8, will have players in helmets, practice jerseys and shorts as part of the five-day acclimation period before adding shoulder pads for practices on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 10-11. USU will then be in full pads on Wednesday, Aug. 12, leading up to its first two-a-day practice on Friday, Aug. 14. USU's first scrimmage will be on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

Utah State Football Media Day Quotes From Head Coach Matt Wells:
Opening statement:
"It's been a good and long and eventful summer. This is the best time of the year to be a coach. I can't wait until 2 p.m. tomorrow when we get on the grass with these guys just to see progress that's been made, not only by young kids from a true freshman season to a sophomore season, but all the way to the fifth-year seniors and some injured guys who are getting back on the field for the first time since they've been injured and to the newcomers. As a coach, it's exciting and that's the best time to be a coach, on the field and in your own element. I know from our strength staff and from talking to our players that it's been a really good summer. We're excited to go into what we call the fourth quarter, which we'll talk more about tonight in a team meeting. The fourth quarter is training camp, which is one of the most important times for us as a team, as the 2015 edition of these Aggies, to develop leadership and chemistry. It's resetting the culture, which is one of the most important things we do here as a staff, leaders and captains. I'm not assuming things are going to be the same. I'm not assuming we're going to roll off the ball and be competitive. I think you have to earn the right to win and earn the right to be competitive and put yourself in a competitive situation. But you have to do that each and ever year and offseason, which rolls into training camp. That's how hopefully you can continue to build a program year after year and team after team because there's a lot of turnover. Each year you're around a low 20 percent turnover as far as your team whether it's graduation, NFL, defections, suspensions, injuries, young men walking on in your program that aren't there anymore, to two new coordinators here at Utah State. I have new young coaches, graduate assistants. I think resetting the culture is a very important part of the process. I'm looking forward to that. It's been something that, obviously, has gone on this summer. The leaders tell that they like where we're at as far as a team. You always have injuries and this and that, but I've been told by team leaders that they think it's the best summer they've had in a long time. That makes me smile a bit more, but we'll see."

On any updates on players involved in June's car accident:
"John Taylor is going to start tomorrow, full speed. We're very pleased and happy for him. Edmond (Faimalo) and Adewale (Adeoye) are ongoing. Any time you are healing internal injuries, it takes time. They have made progress. We're hopeful that they will be practicing at some point. We won't put a timeline on it. It's not right for them or us. Our doctors and medical staff have done a great job with them. I'm excited for them to get back at some point. Travis Seefeldt is going to have a hard time making it back this season. If that's the case, we'll obviously as a university and an athletic department do everything we can to help support him in getting an extension or a sixth year."

On the biggest things he is looking for on the first day of practice:
"It's hard to say the first day and then separate it from the next three weeks. The things you always get in the first day are excitement, juice and energy. I'm looking for that at practice number 10 right after the first scrimmage. The big things are, as always, chemistry and leadership. Guys pulling guys through when they don't think they can do it again or playing through nicks and bruises and teaching the young kids. That's what I'm looking for. There will be specific position battles from an evaluation standpoint. Then at some point right in the middle of training camp, we're going to sit down and say, 'Who are we? What are we doing?' If it gets tweaked a little bit on offense or defense, then so be it. That's our job as coaches. You have like six different things, whether it's resetting the culture, the standards, leadership, position battles, tweaking what you're doing on offense or defense with certain personnel groups as a bigger strength. You're looking for this year's Jalen Davis at training camp. Not one of you guys asked me about Jalen Davis last year. There were 10 coaches that had no idea he'd be starting the season opener against Tennessee. You're going to get some cool stories like that. Now I want to see Jalen come back from a freshman All-American year and I want to see where he's going to be tomorrow. I'll tell them tonight that this weekend is first impression weekend. For coaches, for seniors, from freshman for newcomers, it's first impression weekend. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Our two new coordinators don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Then there's Chuckie Keeton and Kyler Fackrell coming back on the field for the first time in a minute. It's fun. Everybody's going to make an impression."

On how much of the return for players injured last season is mental versus physical:
"I don't know how to put a percentage on it, but it's absolutely just as equal as a part of that comeback. Injuries in all sports hopefully make you stronger. Hopefully you go through adversity, whether emotionally, whether physically or whether mentally and we all learn from it and we all get better from it. Then your mental performance or your physical performance improves later on. I think sometimes that will be evaluated by us down the line, but it's absolutely a part of it."

On whether he has a routine when he steps back to evaluate during fall camp:
"You do. You have a little bit of a process. To me, I call it scrimmage one - evaluation. Scrimmage two - you're getting closer to it. Scrimmage three - you're making decisions. After that third scrimmage, coaches are coming here and we will grade the tape and see where you're at. You're grading the tape and you're making decisions. Who's travelling, who's the fifth wide out, who's the sixth wide out? You're making decisions. You're evaluating earlier in training camp. The closer you get to the end of training camp becomes decision time. Right around that second and third week of camp, you start to say, 'Alright, who are we really?' To me, the 'what we do' will never change at Utah State. That's to me, the foundation of who we are, the way we recruit and the way we play with the hard edge. We're football junkies, we're tough guys, we're blue-collar. That will never change at Utah State. Sometimes the 'how do things' will change. Maybe we play more zone this year. It has nothing to do with the corners. Maybe it has to do with the pass rush. Maybe we play more man coverage. We might play some three tight end sets or play with a full back. It's different every year a little bit. The how may change just a little bit. You may tweak some things because it's what you have to do, just like we've done when we had injuries the last two seasons."

On who he thinks can come in and make immediate contributions to the team:
"When I think of that, I think of a guy that's probably been in the program for a couple of years, that's maybe been playing on special teams or has been kind of a part-time guy that will have a bigger role. I think of guys like Devin Centers who has done a tremendous job of progressing through this program from a redshirt to a special teams player that was really a phenom our first year here. He morphed into a nickel spot and a safety spot and was still a great special teams player for us. He's competing for a starting role at safety in a full-time role. You've seen him back there. You don't have that many pass breakups and not be on the field. It's not like he hasn't been on the field. But to say you're competing for a starting job, and I'm going to have a chance to win it, I think that's big. I think there was a bit of a three-way rotation back there last year. I think of guys like that. I think of Devonte Robinson having a bigger role on offense if he earns that. Or who's the running back that's going to take charge or are we going to have a two or three-man rotation, which is fine because we've done that at running back. I think of an offensive lineman, maybe an Austin Albrecht. Maybe it's a graduate transfer we have coming in. I think of guys like that. Maybe it's a defensive lineman like Ricky Ali'ifua that everybody says 'Oh my goodness, he's a beast.' He's had a great summer. I'm excited to watch Ricky, who's a great leader for our defense. Maybe it's a young linebacker. We'll see."

On one word or phrase that he thinks describes the team heading into the season:
"I hesitate to just throw something out. Everybody wants to tell me, 'you'll have a good year if you stay healthy.' Just give me something new. We haven't stayed healthy in two years. But we found a way. Why? To me it's leadership and the culture of the program. It's the internal leadership in that locker room. What can we do if we keep guys healthy? Even if we keep guys healthy, we still have to have chemistry. We still have to have leadership and those kinds of guys. I put a premium on that."

On how senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton is approaching things differently this season as opposed to the last few:
"In my opinion, the kid savors life. Life and opportunity. I think he really relishes his last and final opportunity. I think he's cherishing it a little better and a little more. Sometimes when you get things taken away from you, I think you cherish things a little stronger. You love a little harder or you work a little harder. I think you understand being in the moment a little more. I'll tell you, that's a young man who's everything to Utah State. But he also, if you listen to him, he'll tell you what Utah State has done for him. You just want it for a kid like that. I don't think you'll see him throw it further or harder or things that you all think are really cool for a quarterback that I don't put a tremendous amount of stock in. I think you're going to see a smarter quarterback. I know you have a smarter quarterback. I know that. I've been around him. I've listened to him in QB meetings. He's in his fifth year in a system that is hopefully an improved model and little better, but there's a lot of nuts and bolts that haven't changed for him, so with that comes more freedom and input. I value his input, and coach (Josh) Heupel does, too."

On how the guys behind Chuckie Keeton are developing:
"That will be a fun competition to watch and evaluate. Those guys bettor savor their reps. They better not count their reps, the better make their reps count. You have four other quarterbacks in camp and in that room. So whether it's routes or a scrimmage, you better savor them and make the reps count. You're not given more reps, you earn more reps. Those four guys have had a good summer, but that competition will go pretty deep into training camp. Somebody will reach up and grab the reigns, and hopefully it becomes obvious."

On who he sees being contributors carrying the football:
"We'll see who's improved over the summer. It's a wide-open race. LaJuan Hunt had a good end of the freshman season. I thought Tonny Lindsey had a really good end of spring ball. Justen Hervey started making some plays. Devante Mays, now that he's been here for a semester and a summer, you look for his output to increase because of knowledge of the system, being in a little better shape and being here and knowing how we do things better. Kennedy Williams is a guy who is actually going to play some slot and some running back just like he did last year. So, we'll see."

On whether the new assistant coaches have joined the culture of Utah State football:
"Absolutely. You're an assistant, and you walk in here, to me, it's our job as other coaches to teach these new coaches and new coordinators. Although, Kevin (Clune) walked in miles ahead, being the old linebackers coach here and having success, he knew how we do things here. That was a very, very seamless transition. You have young coaches and two new coordinators, so we teach them this is how we recruit, this is how we develop them, this is how we stress academics, this is how we practice, this is how practice changes. To me, as new coaches and new players, it's very important for you to recognize the success we've had and buy in. Then, I think it's healthy and important that we as coaches say, 'How can we improve this model? What do you have that fits here? How can we tweak this and make it more efficient and more explosive?' Sometimes they work. If it makes us better, it's the Utah State version. It's not the Matt Wells version. It's not the Mark Weber version. It's not Josh Heupel or Kevin Clune's version. It's our version. I think it's been great dialogue back and forth, and we have tweaked a few things. But the nuts and bolts of what we're doing is pretty similar."

On some examples of what kinds of changes have been made:
"Maybe some competitive situations in practice, some of the rotations, the way we rotate in practice, some of those things. Then there are some things behind the scenes on both offense and defense. Hopefully we're streamlining things and becoming more efficient. Whether it's how you say it, how you signal it or how a kid sees it. We're adding more, but not adding a whole lot."

On how Josh Heupel has integrated to Utah State football:
"I think Coach Heupel has done a tremendous job of jumping in. He's all-in now. He's happy to be here at Utah State and to be an Aggie. It's been fun from me, from a quarterback perspective and an offensive perspective, to see his views. Even though they are very, very similar, there are things that are different based on his experiences or style of offense at Oklahoma compared to what I've been exposed to. It's fun, it's talking ball, it's scheming and developing quarterbacks. There's things that I learn everyday from him. There are things that he used to do that we're not going to do, and there are things that he used to do that we are going to do. He's done a great job. He's very organized. Our relationship is very good, and I enjoy sitting in those meetings and being a part of them."

On whether success has impacted recruiting:
"I think, hopefully, that is true the more you win and the more you're successful in a program year after year. We don't want to be, nor have we been, a one-year flash in the pan. To me, I'm always trying to build this program for six years not six months. You want to sustain success and I think recruits see that. I think they see you as a consistent winner, winning bowl games. I think it is still a process for us, from a recruiting standpoint, to market your program to a generation that doesn't and is not used to seeing Utah State win on a consistent basis. Those are images and thoughts that I don't think are accurate right now for Utah State. It's the here and the now. For most recruits, it's what they've seen on social media and ESPN for four-straight years. When you play well on ESPN and you're successful as a program, I think that's relevant to guys in this day and age."

Utah State Football Media Day Quotes From Redshirt QB Chuckie Keeton:
Opening Statement:
"It's good to see everyone for a fifth year. The summer has been going great. A lot of guys got a lot better this summer and we have some new guys who are primed to step up. We've got some older guys who have been here for a few years now. I'm excited to see everyone back and healthy. Overall I'm just excited to get back out there with these guys and get to the grind and see it all pay off during the year. I think it's going to be a fun one."

On coming back twice:
"Last time was probably a lot more mental. This year it was more physical. I've been able to get into the weight room and push myself a little bit more which is something I wasn't able to do last year. My numbers have gone up and time has worked itself out. I think I made sure to focus on the physical side because I knew I had an extra year. I didn't have any control on if I was going to get to play or not this year, so that aspect was gone. I feel a lot better heading into this year."

On changing his methods:
"It's not changing much. Over the last four years, I've made strides every season. I can't change the exact player I am, I just have to make small adjustments that can help me out. I'm the same person, just an updgraded model. I don't have the knee brace anymore, I haven't picked it up since the spring. I feel like I'm moving a lot better. Everyone always asks about confidence in my knee. If you have to adjust a knee brace, you're looking at it every time and that throws something into it. I'm feeling good."

On the talent behind the running game:
"I think we have a lot of different guys. LaJuan (Hunt) is our returning workhorse right now. He's going to be a big one. Devante (Mays) is another big name that we're excited to see. He's one of the strongest kids I've seen since I've been here. Tonny Lindsey is another one. He's quick and has really good vision, which is something I like to see. You just really never know. We've got a lot of things that we can do, but that doesn't mean that we're going to do it. Hopefully I get to run. We'll see. It will go week-to-week, you never know what a team is going to throw at you.

On one word to describe the feeling going into this season:
"Optimistic. I say optimistic, one, because we've already gone through a lot of the down periods for our team. Really it's just looking up from here. We've got a lot of guys coming back on offense and I'm excited to throw to them. Optimistic is the word to describe anybody, that's just how I see it. Maybe it just describes me. Whether we're down three points or 20, we've always got a shot as long as there's time on the clock."

On the vocal leaders on this year's team:
"One big one is Austin Stephens, our starting center. Now that he has a year under his belt, he's going to be able to lead these guys a lot more confidently. At quarterback, we have to lead and be confident in everything that we do. If I'm wrong, I have to be wrong and convince everyone else that we can make it be right. Another one is Brandon Swindall. He's another fifth-year guy. All summer he's been putting in work. Sometimes I just want to sit back and observe what everyone else is doing and see how they respond to other people. He can get people to step up their game and create other leaders. He's going to be a big influence on the offensive side of the ball."

On the comfort of the third season in the Mountain West:
"There's definitely a confidence around here that we can win the conference. I treat every season like it's a brand new thing. You're not playing the old version of a team. It's nice to know what we've done in the past, but it's the past. You can't change anything. You can definitely control what the present and the near future has in store for us."

On his outlook knowing it's his final season:
"It's weird because I feel like I keep changing my outlook. Last year was just weird and the year before that I got hurt. I had last year to fall back on, but then it was a waiting game. I don't have any regrets about anything that's happened. It's all been for the better. If I hadn't gotten hurt last year, we wouldn't be having this interview right now, so that's a positive. Overall, I'm very optimistic. Everything has worked out so far. If I didn't get hurt the last two years, I wouldn't have the team I have right now. Every year everyone says, 'Oh this is the best Utah State team there's been.' I haven't heard anybody say that this year, but I think this is going to be our best team. Talk is cheap, I'd rather show it."

On adapting to Josh Heupel as the offensive coordinator:
"It's not that new. I see it as a challenge because the change allows us to not just fall back on old tendencies. It's always a different perspective and that's something I love to see. I love a challenge, so I may have to watch more film or look at things a little big deeper. As an offense, we're going to stay the same. You can't change our identity too much, because that's who we are. We're still the same offense, we're still going to do the same things overall."

On his relationship with Coach Heupel:
"It's been good. He came in from a completely different offense than Kevin McGiven, so I had to teach him the offense. It developed some trust within us and our relationship. He had to trust me. He's been a good teacher. I was watching some film from the spring and I look a lot different than I did my sophomore year as far as my posture and the way the ball is coming out. And that was with just six weeks of work. We're about to have 15 weeks of work and hopefully it will get a lot better. I'm excited to see what he'll call and hopefully we can get a lot more points on the board at the end of the game. He won a national championship and finished second for the Heisman 15 years ago. You have to listen to someone like that, someone who's been in the position in a big-time role. You have to hang on to those words. I can always do better. We have to make it rub off onto the rest of the team and we'll be able to take some strides this year."

On being able to just get out and play:
"It's nice. I appreciate everything the school has done for me with the Heisman stuff. I've always been the underdog, that's the mentality I've always taken. It's nice to dial it back a little bit. I'd rather show it than have anything said about it. It feels like I'm getting back to the roots. It's great to get all the preseason awards, but that's just a glorified prediction. A lot of people didn't know who Johnny Manziel was before that season starter. You want to build it as you go on, your resume needs to speak for you more than people's words."

On his goals for the season:
"I'm sure people think my main goal is to stay healthy, but that's not even on my mind. I don't have any specific stat lines in mind. As long as we can win that Mountain West Championship, I'm cool. We don't have that trophy or ring yet. I held onto the trophy at Mountain West Media Days and it molded to my hand for a second. Hopefully we can get that back here."

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