CLIPPER • THURSDAY, AUG. 18, 2011
Sports
C9
BOBBY WAGNER is entering his senior season with the Aggies. In 2010, he led the team with 132 total tackles. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Talbot/USU Athletic Media Relations
BRYAN KARIYA will look to improve on his 539-yard rushing season as the Cougars battle through their first season as an independent. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Philbrick/BYU photo.
Aggies look to improve in 2011
Cougars into the wild for 2011
BY SHAIN GILLET
BY SHAIN GILLET
back two potential heavy weights this season, each coming back from an injury. Stanley Morrison and Matt Austin, a LOGAN — Those that have followed junior and senior respectively, will both Utah State University over the years be back after seeing little or no action have been going through some tough in 2010. times. Morrison was one of the Aggies’ play Without a winning season since 1997, makers recently, catching 33 balls for the Aggies have won no more than five 616 yards and three touchdowns. games since its 2000 campaign. Austin has been out the past two seaThis year, with the return of as many as 17 starters (10 on offense), the Aggies sons with injuries and missed all but one game during that time. are hoping to simply get better than the Another receiver to year before. look for this year will be The Aggies were Dontel Watkins, a junior plagued by a number of who had 42 catches with injuries on both sides of 492 yards and four scores the ball in 2010. last year. Most of them, however, The Aggies will be ended up happening to looking to improve on their best offensive and • 9/3 @ Auburn their sixth place finish in defensive play makers, • 9/10 Weber State the WAC in total deand the Aggies finished fense, with the return of • 9/24 Colorado State seventh in the Western six starters for the 2011 Athletic Conference in • 9/30 @ BYU campaign. scoring and just 84th in • 10/8 Wyoming Among them include the nation in total ofdefensive ends Quinn fense. • 10/15 @ Fresno State Garner and Levi Koskan With only two offensive • 10/22 Louisiana Tech and line backers Jake starters gone from last • 11/5 @ Hawaii Doughty, Kyle Gallagher season (Diondre Borel and Bobby Wagner. and Spencer Johnson), • 11/12 San Jose State Wagner led the team the Aggies in 2011 should • 11/19 @ Idaho last season with 133 total be well-rehearsed in • 11/26 Nevada tackles, with Gallagher second-year head coach finishing right behind him Gary Anderson’s ap• 12/3 @ N. Mexico State with 91 on the year. proach to winning footWagner has been conball. sidered the backbone of Likely leading the the defense for the past few seasons, as backfield this season is Robert Turbin, he was voted a two-time first team Alla junior who carried the ball for nearly WAC and preseason Bronko Nagurski 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2009. Trophy Watch List member. He missed all of 2010 with a knee inHe’s only 22 tackles shy of breaking jury, prompting Derrvin Speight to carry into the top-10 among USU’s career the load with Kerwynn Williams. tackles list, needing only 19 to get into The duo combined for more than 1,200 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns, the top 10 in WAC’s history. Safeties Walter McClenton and Alfred with Joey DeMartino and Michael Bowden, both seniors, will be looking Smith seeing some playing time as well. to improve the secondary this year that With the absence of quarterback ranked 106th in passing yards against Borel, the Aggies search for a starter in them. 2011 will come down to three players. Bowden will likely replace Rajric Among them are junior college transColeman, who had 55 tackles and three fer Adam Kennedy, red-shirt freshman interceptions. Alex Hart, and true freshman Chuckie Utah State will kick off its season Keeton. A likely starter may not be named un- with a road game against Southeastern Conference and defending national til the Aggies’ opening game, which will champion Auburn. have fans wondering where their leader will come from. sgillet@davisclipper.com The wide receiver position will bring Clipper Sports Editor
Aggies 2011 schedule
Di Luigi again will be able to show his versatility this year, finishing second on the team with 443 yards receiving on 45 catches. Gone from last year’s receiving corps will PROVO — Brigham Young University be Luke Ashworth, who last year caught is full of history. seven touchdown passes from Heaps and From its legendary coaches to its seemwas fourth on the team in receiving yards. ingly perennial run at national championDefensively the Cougars lost four of its ships in the 1980s, the Cougars have always top six tacklers from last year, including been a part of a conference with their leading tackler Andrew Rich and team sack in-state arch-rival Utah. leader Vic So’oto. For the 2011 season, howRich, who started all ever, everything will change. 13 games for BYU last The Utes immediately year, also led the team took an invitation to join in interceptions as a the now PAC-12, while the defensive back, and his Cougars will play as indelikely replacement will pendents in football with still be an unknown until the likes of Army, Navy and the Cougars’ first game Notre Dame. • 9/3 @ Ole Miss against SEC’s Ole Miss. The change for fans of • 9/10 @ Texas Back, however, for anboth the Cougars and the • 9/17 Utah other year are Travis Uale, Utes was immediately noAusten Jorgensen and ticeable on their respective • 9/23 UCF Brandon Ogletree. schedules, having to play the • 9/30 Utah State Uale started nine games Holy War in the third week for the Cougars last year • 10/8 San Jose State of the season as opposed to as a defensive back and the final week of the year. • 10/15 @ Oregon State finished seventh on the And as the teams often • 10/22 Idaho State team in total tackles. fought for a conference title, Jorgensen and Ogletree • 10/28 @ TCU this year won’t have the imare likely to have a sucpact it has in years before. • 11/12 Idaho cessful year again behind Offensively, the Cougars • 11/19 New Mexico State the defensive line, assurare as set as any other team ing the majority of the • 12/3 @ Hawaii in the country as far as their line backing corps. backfield is concerned. Between the two of Jake Heaps, who last year them, they racked up 95 threw for more than 2,300 total tackles with 1.5 sacks last year. yards with 15 touchdowns, will return for Aside from Uale, the Cougars have a another year under center. plethora of options to choose from this The two-headed running back tandem year in the defensive backfield. of JJ Di Luigi and local Bryan Kariya also Corby Eason is the only remaining demake their return for the 2011 campaign. fensive back this season with a lot of game While Di Luigi led the team in rushing with 917 yards and eight touchdowns on the experience. Among his 13 games played last year ground (with another 443 yards receiving), Kariya also did well as part of the backfield he managed to get 22 tackles (5.5 for lost yardage) and was second on the team with that rushed for nearly 2,200 yards last year. Aside from Di Luigi’s 900-plus yards per- 3.5 sacks. Other names that could come to the formance, Kariya and fellow running mate forefront are Robbie Buckner, David Josh Quezada combined to rush for over Foote and Carter Mees, who all saw time 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. as defensive backs last season for the The Cougars, without a doubt, will be set in the backfield this season. Cougars. Leading the receiving corps this season BYU will open up the season with a will be favorite targets of Heaps, sophopair of road games that include Ole Miss more Cody Hoffman and senior McKay and Texas. Jacobson. They return home to play Utah as part Between the two, they racked up 79 of a four game home stretch afterward. catches for 937 yards and eight touchdowns For more information about BYU (with Hoffman catching seven of the eight football, visit www.byucougars.com. touchdowns). Clipper Sports Editor
Cougars 2011 schedule