LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football held its 10th practice of fall camp Monday morning and the Aggie running backs are proving to be a talented and deep group.
 
"Our running backs are doing well and fall camp has been going really well," said first-year running backs coach Rodney Freeman II. "We've got a good enough group of guys and we've got enough depth that everybody doesn't have to take a ton of reps, so that allows us to stay healthy, but they're all getting enough work that everybody knows what they're doing and everybody's on the right page. I'm pretty satisfied for now.
 
"Saturday's scrimmage was solid. We've still got a lot of work to do, but it was good to see those guys make some plays when they got the opportunity. We've still got to clean up some little details that a lot of people don't see when they're sitting in the stands. So, there are still some things to do, but it was good to see guys win one-on-ones, catch the ball out of the backfield and extend some plays in the run game, that's for sure."
 
Despite losing its starter here from last season, Utah State has a plethora of talented running backs heading into the 2023 campaign.
 
Highlighting this group is sophomore Robert Briggs Jr., who rushed for 353 yards on 74 carries (4.8 ypr) and one touchdown in 2022 as he played in the first 10 games before missing the rest of the year due to injury. Briggs was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week following his performance against UConn in the season opener as he rushed for 85 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown.
 
"Fall camp has been going great for the running backs," said Briggs. "I'd say we've got a good group of talented guys. We've got some work to do, but so far, it's been going great.
 
"Fall camp has been going great for me. I feel like I've become better from last year. I feel great and I'm ready for the season to start."
 
Utah State also returns senior Cooper Jones, who served as the team's punt returner a year ago.
 
Joining the two incumbents are six newcomers, which includes one four-year transfer, two junior college transfers and three high school players.
 
The four-year transfer to this group is senior Sione Finau (Kearns, Utah/Kearns HS/BYU), who spent four years at BYU (2018-21), appearing in 21 games with two starts. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Finau carried the ball 59 times for 359 yards (6.1 ypc) with two touchdowns for the Cougars.
 
Highlighting the two junior college transfers is junior Davon Booth (North Las Vegas, Nevada/El Monte (CA) HS/Cerritos College). During the 2022 season, Booth earned California Community College Football Coaches Association All-America honors as a sophomore at Cerritos College, as he rushed for 1,442 yards on 223 carries (6.5 ypc) and eight touchdowns. Joining Booth is junior Rahsul Faison (Salisbury, Connecticut/Salisbury HS/Snow College). During the 2022 season, Faison rushed for 355 yards on 88 carries (4.0 ypc) and six touchdowns for Snow College.
 
The three high school players added here include Jaydon Bailey (Cibolo, Texas/Steele HS), Corbin Cottle (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) and Reggie Foster (North Lauderdale, Florida/American Heritage HS).
 
Bailey was named the Texas Class 6A Region IV District 27 Offensive MVP following his senior season at Steele High School in Cibolo, Texas, as he rushed for 1,778 yards on 262 carries (6.8 ypc) and 31 touchdowns. Cottle earned Utah Class 5A second-team all-state, first-team all-region and first-team all-area honors following his junior season at Bountiful HSas he rushed for 1,480 yards on 159 carries (9.3 ypr) and 20 touchdowns. Cottle played in just six games during his senior season due to injury as he rushed for 327 yards on 57 carries (5.7 ypr) and two touchdowns. And, Foster rushed for 336 yards on 67 carries and six touchdowns during his high school career.
 
"We recruited well and added some depth," added Freeman. "It's a long season, so I tell those guys it's going to take all of us to stay healthy and be successful. We just need production out of our room, I don't care who it comes from, we've just got to be productive when we're out there. Those guys' job is to make it hard for me to know who to put into the game and I think they're doing that so far."
 
All fall camp practices are closed to the public. Fans are invited to watch Utah State's final scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 19, at noon, as part of its annual Family Football Fun Day, which will be held on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.
 
Utah State opens the 2023 season at Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 2, while its home opener is the fol-lowing weekend against Idaho State on Saturday, Sept. 9. USU begins Mountain West play at Air Force on Friday, Sept. 15.
 
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.