Scrimmage Stats (PDF)

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football held its second and final scrimmage of fall camp Saturday on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium and the Aggie defense shined for the majority of the afternoon.
 
Offensively, Utah State held out three of its top seven offensive linemen and played its second and third units for a good portion of the scrimmage.
 
"We're not a finished product by any means and we still have a lot of work to do," said second-year head coach Blake Anderson. "We got to look at a lot of guys today. There were a ton of different rotations and we were trying to get a last look at a handful of guys to see if they could help us.
 
"The defense had just a little bit more juice than the offense today. They're all beat down, exhausted and tired, but we're not quite done yet. Three more days of camp before we turn the page to start looking at game one. The film will be really good to learn from. I'm not sure we did anything really, really well today. Hopefully, from amidst all of the chaos and all the transitions from one group to the next and substitutions, hopefully, we're going to find a few guys who showed up in a way today that we can count on as we start leaning toward game time."
 
As a whole, Utah State's defense recorded 8.0 sacks and 23.0 tackles for loss, to go along with three pass breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Junior DE Patrick Joyner Jr. led USU with 11 tackles, which included 3.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss, and graduate senior S Hunter Reynolds added six tackles. Graduate junior DE Daniel Grzesiak, a transfer from Nevada, had another productive scrimmage as he finished the day with 1.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss as part of his five total stops. And redshirt freshman DE Enoka Migao also shined on Saturday with 1.0 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss as part of his five total tackles.
 
Other Aggies with multiple tackles for loss included sophomore DE John Ward, a transfer from UCLA, with three, senior DT Hale Motu'apuaka with two, senior DT Aurion Peoples with two, and sophomore DE Tavian Coleman, a transfer form Trinity Valley (Texas) Junior College, with two.
 
In all, six different Aggies recorded a sack and 12 different players had a tackle for loss.
 
Utah State's defense also notched three turnovers on the day as Motu'apuaka recovered a fumble in the red zone, while senior CB Michael Anyanwu and redshirt freshman S Ike Larsen both had interceptions.
 
Offensively, Utah State spent a significant amount of time on its run game as 10 different players carried the ball a total of 77 times for 237 yards and scored five touchdowns. Junior John Gentry led the charge as he gained 58 yards on six carries, while senior Pailate Makakona rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries and one score. Graduate senior Calvin Tyler Jr. finished the day with 45 yards on 10 carries, to go along with a pair of touchdowns, and junior Jordan Wilmore, a transfer from Fresno State, carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards.
 
On the second series of the scrimmage, Makakona scored on a 17-yard run to cap a 10 play, 65-yard drive.
 
The Aggie defense then pitched a shutout over the next seven series as they held each drive to five or fewer players and recorded a pair of turnovers on a fumble recovery and interception. 
 
Utah State then scored five touchdowns during various red zone scenarios, including a pair of short touchdown runs from Tyler. USU also had 1-yard touchdown runs from two of its quarterbacks in sophomore Levi Williams, a transfer from Wyoming, and freshman Bishop Davenport (Spring, Texas/Spring HS).
 
Utah State had two touchdown passes on the day and both came from Williams, as he connected with junior TE Josh Sterzer for a 9-yard completion and with junior WR Terrell Vaughn, a transfer from Ventura (California) Junior College, on a 24-yard completion.
 
Overall, Williams was 6-of-14 passing for 68 yards and two touchdowns to lead Utah State. In all, four different quarterbacks combined to go 14-of-43 for 168 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on the day.
 
Junior Kyle Van Leeuwen led the wide outs with three receptions for 28 yards, while Vaughn finished with two receptions for 34 yards. Sterzer also had a pair of catches for 20 yards, and graduate senior Brian Cobbs, a transfer from Maryland, had one reception for 24 yards. In all, 10 Aggies caught passes during the scrimmage.
 
Utah State will open the 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 27, when it hosts Connecticut at 2 p.m., in a game that will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1. USU then plays at Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 3, and hosts Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 10, before beginning MW play at home against UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 24, in a game that will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network at 5 p.m.
 
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.