Photo Gallery

With fall camp underway, UtahStateAggies.com will break down the 2019 Aggie football team, position-by-position. Friday's position preview is with the specialists.

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's football team held its second practice of fall camp Friday afternoon on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium, and the Aggie specialists will be looked upon to have a significant impact in games this fall.
 
"We have to be technically and fundamentally sound and that's where it all starts," said special teams coordinator Stacy Collins. "The schematics are always there and people will be excited about the schemes, but you have no scheme if you're not technically and fundamentally sound. We'll continue to work on that and we'll certainly get to the scheme part and build off of that week to week. We'll be sound in what we do, and bottom line is, we have to play with great effort and energy to play sound football."
 
Highlighting Utah State's specialists are two of the top players in the nation at their respective positions in senior All-American placekicker Dominik Eberle and junior All-American kick returner Savon Scarver.
 
"We have a lot of senior leadership with Dominik Eberle, who has been here for a long time, and it's great having Aaron Dalton back," said Collins. "Brandon Pada comes back as our long snapper and he's only gotten better. We have a great group of guys coming back. Just like any type of competition, we always have to prove ourselves every time. We have great experience and leadership, and we're excited to see what these guys will do this year."
 
Entering the 2019 season, Eberle was voted a preseason fourth-team All-American by Athlon Sports and second-team all-Mountain West by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's Magazine, along with being named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List. He has also been named an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominee and to the Wuerffel Throphy Watch List.
 
"Dominik has been a competitor ever since he's been here. He has grown, matured and does a great job from a field goal standpoint. He also does a great job as a kickoff guy for us. We're going to use him a decent amount in our punt scheme, as well. For us, he's a three-headed monster and extremely mature. I'm excited to see what he can do his senior year," added Collins.
 
As a kick returner, Scarver was named a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele's Magazine and a preseason second-team All-American by both Athlon Sports and Sporting News heading into his junior season, along with being named preseason first-team all-Mountain West by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's Magazine, in addition to being named to the all-MW preseason team as voted on by the media that covers the league.
 
"Savon has gotten bigger, stronger and he's continued to mature. We're excited with what he can do for us and we need to continue to highlight him, as well as him understanding that he's not going to get the ball kicked to him as much," stated Collins.
 
Eberle, an honorable mention all-Mountain West selection as a junior, led the conference and was fourth in the nation in scoring (10.8 ppg) last season. He was also first in the MW and ninth in the nation in field goals made (1.69 pg), third in the MW and 37th in the nation in field goal percentage (.786), as he was 22-of-28 on the season, and seventh in the MW and 69th in the nation in points responsible for with 141 (10.8 pg).
 
As a junior, Eberle set four school records with his 141 points, 75 extra points made and attempted, and 10.8 points per game scoring average. Eberle also tied the single-season school record with his 28 field goal attempts and is one of just seven kickers in school history to not miss an extra point during the entire season. In fact, Eberle has made all 122 of his extra points during his career, which is a school record.
 
Eberle also set several Utah State single-game records in 2018, including tying two NCAA records in USU's 60-13 home win against New Mexico State on Sept. 8. First, Eberle tied the NCAA record for points scored in a game by a kicker with 24. Eberle also tied an NCAA record with his three 51-yard field goals, becoming just the sixth player ever to kick three 50-plus yard field goals in a game. Eberle also set school and Mountain West records with his six made field goals, while his six field goal attempts tied his own school record that was set last season. In all, those six made field goals are tied for the third-most in a single-game in NCAA history.
 
As a sophomore in 2017, Eberle was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award and was named a third-team All-American by Phil Steele's Magazine and an honorable mention All-American by SB Nation, along with garnering first-team all-Mountain West honors.
 
"There's a lot to look forward to," said Eberle. "Overall as a team, we all have big goals. We want to win the Mountain West Championship and everyone is locked in. Individually, I feel as ready as ever for the season."
 
Scarver was named a consensus All-American as a returner/all-purpose player last year as he received first-team All-America honors from two of the five outlets that comprise the NCAA Consensus All-America team, including the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Scarver also received the Jet Award last season as the nation's most outstanding return specialist.
 
As a sophomore, Scarver led the nation in kickoff returns (33.7 ypr) and tied for second with a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns.
 
During the 2018 season, Scarver returned 22 kickoffs for 742 yards, including four returns of 50-or-more yards. His two kickoff returns for touchdowns (100 yards vs. New Mexico State and 96 yards at Wyoming) rank as the second-most in a single-season in school history.
 
For his career, Scarver has three total kickoff returns for touchdowns, which is second all-time in school history. Scarver's career kickoff return average of 28.5 yards is the third-best in Utah State history.
 
Utah State also returns its long snapper from last season in Pada, a junior, and welcomes back Dalton, a senior punter who received a medical redshirt last season. Pada served as the team's long snapper in all 13 games last season, while Dalton has appeared in 37 games during his Aggie career. Overall, he has punted 210 times for an average of 40.5 yards per punt with 27 punts of at least 50 yards and 72 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
 
Entering his junior season, Pada was named a preseason fourth-team all-Mountain West long snapper by Phil Steele's Magazine.
 
Another specialist returning for Utah State is junior punt returner Jordan Nathan. As a sophomore in 2018, Nathan earned second-team all-Mountain West honors from Phil Steele's Magazine as he returned 20 punts for 166 yards (8.3 ypr) and one touchdown. Overall, he ranked third in the MW and 32nd in the nation with his average of 8.3 yards per return and tied for sixth nationally with his one punt return for touchdown.
 
For his career, Nathan ranks 10th all-time in school history with a career punt return average of 8.4 yards as he has returned 43 punts for 362 yards.
 
Entering his junior campaign, Nathan has been named preseason first-team all-Mountain West by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's Magazine as a punt returner.
 
Additionally, Utah State returns one other specialist from last season in sophomore placekicker Connor Coles.
 
Newcomers who joined the team last spring include junior punter Christopher Bartolic, while freshman punter Pierce Callister and freshman long snapper Jesse Vasquez both joined the program this summer.
 
Friday was the second of 24 practices for the Aggies leading up to their season-opening game at Wake Forest on Friday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. (MT), in a game that will be nationally televised on the ACC Network. Utah State will then begin its home season the following weekend against Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 p.m. Mountain West play begins two weeks later as USU travels to San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 21, in a game that will be televised nationally CBS Sports Network at 8:30 p.m. (MT).
 
As part of the NCAA's five-day acclimation period, Utah State will add shoulder pads on Saturday and Monday. The Aggies' first practice in full pads will be on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
 
Utah State's first scrimmage will be closed to the public, but fans are invited to its last scrimmage as part of Family Football Fun Day, sponsored by Macey's, at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 5 p.m.
 
Utah State is picked to finish second in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West, as voted on by media members that cover the league. Furthermore, Love was named the Conference's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while senior defensive end Tipa Galeai, senior cornerback DJ Williams, junior kickoff returner Savon Scarver and junior linebacker David Woodward joined Love on the preseason all-MW team.
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
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.
 
All practice reports during fall camp will be brought to you by Farm Bureau Insurance.
 
2019 Utah State Football Fall Camp Dates
Sat., Aug. 3 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
 
Mon., Aug. 5 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
Tues., Aug. 6 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
Wed., Aug. 7 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
Thur., Aug. 8 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
Fri., Aug. 9 - 2:45 - 5:15 p.m. - (Open to Public and Media)
Sat., Aug. 10 - (Closed)
 
Mon., Aug. 12 - (Closed)
Tues., Aug. 13 - (Closed)
Wed., Aug. 14 - (Closed)
Thur., Aug. 15 - (Closed)
Fri., Aug. 16 - (Closed)
Sat., Aug. 17 – 5 p.m. – Family Football Fun Day (Open to Public and Media)
 
Mon., Aug. 19 - (Closed)
Tues., Aug. 20 - (Closed)
Wed., Aug. 21 - (Closed)
Thur., Aug. 22 - (Closed)
Fri., Aug. 23 - (Closed)
Sat., Aug. 24 – (Closed)
 
Mon., Aug. 26 - (Closed)
Tues., Aug. 27 - (Closed)
Wed., Aug. 28 - (Closed)