The college football season in Utah officially gets underway this week, with the Utah State Aggies and Utah Utes kicking their 2009-10 campaigns off on Thursday, followed by Weber State on Friday and finishing up with the BYU Cougars on Saturday.

Today: Utah State Aggies

With a new head coach in Gary Andersen, the former defensive architect helping lead the Utes to an undefeated 13-0 record, a BCS bowl bid and a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama, much is expected in Cache Valley.
The new motto up there is “See It. Feel It. Hear It. Believe It,“ and the credo is catching on quick. Already the coaches and media have chosen the Aggies seventh in preseason polls, which is a beginning and not a means to an end.
Andersen, a Utah grad and native with some head coaching experience at SUU, is fortunate for having a cupboard that isn’t too bare, offensively, as outgoing coach Brent Guy left behind quarterback Diondre Borel, a junior who threw for 1,705 yards (11 TD, 10 Ints) and ran for another 632 on the ground.
Borel should be a monster in the spread offense that new offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin has implemented. Also on the ground will be sophomore Robert Turbin, who rumbled for 8 TD’s on 485 yards and transfer Michael Smith from Eastern Arizona will be in the backfield as well.
Part of that spread offense is spreading around the love, which means the Aggie wide receivers will likely benefit, including sophomore Stanley Morrison (291 yds, 1 TD) and senior trio Nnamdi Gwacham, Xavier Bowman and Omar Sawyer, who combined for almost 800 yards and four TD’s. Tight ends also feature prominently in the spread, with senior Jeremy Mitchell expected to get his catches, as well as junior Jerome Barbour and sophomore Tannen Lloyd.
Losing two offensive linemen to graduation will hurt a bit, but four return, including All-WAC selection Brennan McFadden, to help anchor what should be a vastly improved offense.
Defensively, the Aggies are an unsung bunch, although seven starters return to the fold. Also, Andersen has instituted a pressure defense, a far cry from the more conservative defense the Aggies played before. Up front the Aggies welcome back senior bookends Darby Golden and Antonio May, while Bobby Wagner and Alan Bishop anchor play in the tackles. Linebacker and All-WAC selection Jake Hutton departs, leaving a big hole in the middle, but senior Paul Igboeli, a Butkus Award watch list candidate is back, as is Jordan Glass from injury. The secondary, however, is arguably the strongest position in the Aggie lineup, with senior cornerback Kejon Murphy leading the way, along with junior Chris Randle. Safety James Brindley will be busy this season when the Ags apply that pressure Andersen demands, so Curtis Marsh is moving from the offensive to the defensive backfield. On special teams, junior punter/kicker Peter Caldwell and senior placekicker Chris Ulinski share some duties. The same will be true again this year, as Caldwell will handle the extra point attempts and short-range field goal tries, while Ulinski will take anything over 50 yards, having hit a 56-yard bomb for a field goal last season, as well as murdering 21 kickoffs for touchbacks. Kejon Murphy is the Aggies’ go-to guy on punt and kick returns.

Top Returnees - Offense
Rushing
^ QB Diondre Borel ** (JR, 6-0, 187) 179 rushes, 632 yds, 5 TD
^ RB Robert Turbin * (SO, 5-10, 212) 106 rushes, 485 yds, 8 TD
RB Marquis Butler * (SO, 6-0, 194) 52 rushes, 171 yds, 2 TD
FB Ronald Scott * (SO, 6-0, 214) 15 rushes, 141 yds, 1 TD
Passing
^ QB Diondre Borel ** (JR, 6-0, 187) 136-242, 1,705 yds, 10 INT, 11 TD
Receiving
^ WR Stanley Morrison * (SO, 5-9, 162) 26 catches, 291 yds, 1 TD
^ WR Nnamdi Gwacham *** (SR, 6-3, 211) 20 catches, 370 yds, 2TD
^ RB Robert Turbin * (SO, 5-10, 212) 20 catches, 256 yds, 2TD
^ WR Omar Sawyer *** (SR, 5-9, 179) 19 catches, 246 yds
Offensive Line
^ OC Brennan McFadden *** (SR, 6-2, 295) All-WAC, 12 career starts
^ LT Spencer Johnson ** (JR, 6-5, 291) 19 career starts
^ LG Funaki Asisi * (SO, 6-3, 300) 5 career starts
^ RG Philip Gapelu * (SO, 6-2, 305) 5 career starts

Top Returnees - Defense
Tackles
^ LB Paul Igboeli *** (SR, 6-0, 220) 78 tackles, 6.0 TFL
^ S James Brindley *** (SR, 5-11, 195) 75 tackles, 3.5 TFL
^ DE Bobby Wagner * (SO, 6-1, 225) 51 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 2 PBU
Sacks
DE Antonio May * (SR, 6-4, 244) 2.5 sacks, 7 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FR
^ DE Darby Golden *** (SR, 6-2, 254) 2.0 sacks, 4 TFL
^ DT Nathan Royster ** (JR, 6-0, 262) 2.0 sacks, 3.0 TFL, 1 FF
Interceptions/Pass Break-Ups
^ S James Brindley *** (SR, 5-11, 195) 3 INT, 2 PBU
^ CB Kejon Murphy *** (SR, 5-9, 168) 2 INT, 2 PBU
CB Chris Randle ** (JR, 5-10, 186) 1 INT, 1 PBU
^ LB Paul Igboeli *** (SR, 6-0, 220) 1 INT, 4 PBU

Top Returnees - Special Teams
Punting
^ PK/P Peter Caldwell ** (JR, 6-4, 231) 41.9 avg., 15 50+ yds)
Field Goals
^ PK/P Peter Caldwell ** (JR, 6-4, 231) 10-12, long 42
PK Chris Ulinski ** (SR, 6-3, 203) 2-2, long 56
PAT’s
^ PK/P Peter Caldwell ** (JR, 6-4, 231) 32-33
 Kickoffs
PK Chris Ulinski ** (SR, 6-3, 203) WAC-best 21 touchbacks
Kick Returns
^ CB Kejon Murphy *** (SR, 5-9, 168) 24.2 ypr, long 57
CB Chris Harris (SO, 5-8, 178) 20.1 ypr, long 35
Punt Returns
^ CB Kejon Murphy *** (SR, 5-9, 168) 8.8 ypr, long 26

USU Football Practice Dates, Times and Locations
Thurs., Aug. 6 – 9 a.m.-Noon - Romney Stadium
Fri., Aug. 7 – 9 a.m.-Noon - Romney Stadium
Sat., Aug. 8 – 9 a.m.-11 a.m. - Practice Field
** Media Day 3 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 10 – 9:15 – 11:15 a.m. - Practice Field
Tues., Aug. 11 - 9:15 – 11:15 a.m. - Practice Field
Wed., Aug. 12 – 9-10:45 a.m. / 5-6:30 p.m. - Practice Field ** First two-a-day
Thur., Aug. 13 - 9-10:45 a.m. - Romney Stadium ** Scrimmage
Fri., Aug. 14 - CLOSED
Sat., Aug. 15 – CLOSED
Mon., Aug. 17 - 9-10:45 a.m.
Tues., Aug. 18 - CLOSED
Wed., Aug. 19 - 9-10:45 a.m. / 5-6:30 p.m. - Practice Field
Thurs., Aug. 20 - 9-11 a.m. - Practice Field
Fri., Aug. 21 - 9-10:45 a.m. / 5-6:30 p.m. - Practice Field
Sat., Aug. 22 - 1 p.m. ** Scrimmage and Aggie Football Family Fun Day - Romney Stadium