The 2022 season opener for the reigning Mountain West football champions is less than four weeks away.
Indeed, Utah State has plenty of work to do before welcoming Connecticut to Maverik Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 27. The Aggies must replace nearly half of their starting lineup from the team that matched the single-season school record of 11 wins. USU lost six starters on defense and four on offense, plus All-American kickoff returner Savon Scarver and all-conference punt returner Jordan Nathan.
Here are three intriguing positional storylines USU will face during Fall Camp, which started last Friday:
1. Who will be the starting guards?
USU’s offensive line received a big blow this past spring when Quazzel White was suspended from the team. The TCU transfer started all 14 games at right guard a year ago, played in a team-high 1,097 snaps and led the way with 35.0 knockdowns on his way to garnering honorable mention all-conference honors.
Demytrick Ali’ifua, USU’s starter at left guard, is also gone, having used up all of his eligibility. Ali’ifua, an honorable mention all-MW selection in 2020, played in a record 59 games during his time in Logan.
Who will replace those two starters? Aggie head coach Blake Anderson asserted “both guard spots are wide open” during his press conference last Thursday.
Veteran Wade Meacham will likely be one of the favorites to win one of those spots. The senior from Layton saw action in all 14 games a year ago after playing sparingly from 2018-20.
Another option is junior Jackson Owens, who saw limited action in three or four games in each of the last three seasons.
Two freshmen who could figure into the mix are former Bingham High standout Weylin Lapuaho and former BYU signee Elia Migao. Lapuaho is a true freshman, while Migao and his twin brother, Enoka, signed with the Aggies last summer. Anderson mentioned the 6-foot-2, 330-pound Migao and 6-4, 310 Lapuaho by name during Thursday’s press conference.
The Aggies have plenty of experience at the other three positions in the offensive trenches as Alfred Edwards (left tackle), Jacob South (right tackle), Cole Motes (right tackle), Chandler Dolphin (center) and Falepule Alo (center) have all started multiple games. Edwards will be a five-year starter.
“I think it’s going to be critical to our success,” Anderson said. “Your center, your tackles are all intact. ... Even the backup center and the backup tackles have played and have started games, so you feel better. But those two guard spots have to materialize in a way that we can run the ball better than we did a year ago. We were adequate, but not explosive. We’ve got to be better, especially in situations where everybody in the stadium, including you guys, all know we’re going to run it.”
The Aggies have added depth in the offensive trenches within the past couple of months in Southern Utah University transfer Austin Leausa, plus a couple more transfers who had not officially signed as of last Thursday. One of them is junior college product Nikita Luferov, who pledged his commitment to USU last week. Luferov is currently listed on the team’s roster.
“We’re trying to get as much depth up there, as much size as we can, and we really have not stopped recruiting all summer,” Anderson said.
2. Who will line up at striker?
The Aggies received some bad news at the end of Spring Camp when Anthony Switzer tore his ACL during the Blue vs. White Game. The Arkansas State transfer was primed to replace graduate Cash Gilliam as the team’s starting striker, a hybrid linebacker/safety, in USU’s 4-2-5 base defense.
Switzer, who started 15 games and made 91 tackles in three seasons for the Red Wolves, had surgery immediately following spring ball.
“He is well on track and ahead of schedule physically,” Anderson said. “I would love to think we’ll get him back at the end of the season for four games, but that’s a little bit (of me) being optimistic.”
USU’s backup striker last season was Ajani Carter, who finished strong and contributed with 45 tackles and three interceptions in 13 games. The 6-0 senior was moved to cornerback during Spring Camp and made a big impression on Anderson and the coaching staff. There is no intention of moving Carter back to striker, Anderson said during his press conference.
“Really the primarily move (in Spring Camp) was AJ moving from the safety position out to corner, and I think we realized really quickly in the spring that, that was a good fit for him,” Anderson said. “The length that he brings, he’s got the twitch to play out there, so I expect him to have a big role.”
So who will ultimately replace Switzer at striker? Anderson said he expects this to be a position “by committee” in the early going.
The most experienced option is junior Kaleo Neves, who played in all 14 games a year ago, but essentially entirely in a special teams role. The strikers on USU’s roster are listed as outside linebackers and the only other ones currently listed at that position other than Switzer and Neves are true freshman Lofa Fonoti-Maikui and JUCO transfer Omari Okele.
The Aggies could move a safety over to striker, especially if Dominic Tatum is progressing well enough with his rehab. Tatum started the first three games last fall before suffering a season-ending injury. He was arguably the Aggies’ best defensive player in their season-opening victory at Washington State.
In addition to Tatum, USU has a couple of other proven options at safety in returning starter Hunter Reynolds and Miami transfer Gurvan Hall Jr.
“How do we fix that? Is it with a linebacker? Is it with a safety? Are one of the young guys going to step up and step in? ... Hopefully by scrimmage two it has settled in and solidified, and we’ve figured out what the approach is going to be,” Anderson said of the striker position. “Is it going to be a 4-2-5? ... Is it going to be a little bit more of a 4-3 feel?”
3. Who will be the backup tailback?
The Aggies have a bona fide starter at this position in Calvin Tyler Jr., who is the second-leading returning rusher in the Mountain West. In his first season with the Aggies, the Oregon State transfer rushed for 884 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games. No. 4 battled through some injuries in ’21.
USU lost Elelyon Noa, its very dependable second-leading rusher a year ago, to the transfer portal, so the No. 2 spot is up for grabs.
“We know Calvin is the guy and likely will continue to be the guy if he’s going to stay healthy,” Anderson said. “Who’s going to take a load off his back? Who’s going to step in as the two, as the three? ... We need to find that fairly quickly, I think, so we can get up and running.”
The Aggies do have two other veteran tailbacks, in addition to Tyler Jr. Junior speedster John Gentry rushed for 235 yards and caught five passes as a sophomore, while senior Pailate Makakona contributed with 111 all-purpose yards last fall.
Incoming freshman Robert Briggs is also an option, as is senior Cooper Jones, who has looked solid in limited action in past spring and fall camps. Another option is junior Jordan Wilmore, who recently transferred from Fresno State. The 5-8, 200-pounder started his collegiate career at the University of Utah.
Wilmore was a four-star recruit out of Lawndale (California) High School and rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a sophomore, junior and senior. He had more than 10 scholarship offers from Power 5 Conference programs.
“We felt like he could challenge some other guys in the room,” Anderson said of Willmore, who rushed for 263 yards in two seasons for the Utes, plus 77 yards on 14 carries last fall for the Bulldogs. “Don’t know where he’s going to fit, didn’t promise him anything but an opportunity, but we did feel like it was a need to bring in another guy that has played at this level and could maybe (carve out) a role, however big, however small. Injuries are always a concern too (and) losing Noa like we did to the transfer portal, I think this was the right move.”
