Utah State QB Garretson leaving the program


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LOGAN — Darell Garretson entered Utah State’s 2015 spring camp as an entrenched backup who had previous won a bowl game and led the Aggies to a 10-win season after an abrupt injury to starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton.

But he wasn’t the only one who could stake that claim — and he won’t be leading the team to another successful season.

The Aggies announced Tuesday afternoon that Garretson has left the program. The junior quarterback cleaned out his locker Tuesday morning, and his potential transfer destination is unknown.

“We thank Darell for his contributions to Utah State football the past two years and wish him the best in the future,” head coach Matt Wells said in a statement.

Garretson started his sophomore year behind Keeton, and took over the starting quarterback job in the fourth game of the season after the senior signal caller went down with a knee injury. Garretson led the team to wins in four of his five games played, including a 35-20 win at No. 18 BYU when he threw for a season-high 321 yards and accounted for four touchdowns.

But the then-sophomore from Chandler, Arizona, didn’t last long, going down to a wrist injury in a loss to Colorado State that would be the end of his season. Craig Harrison started the next game, and true freshman Kent Myers paced the team at quarterback through the end of the season while Garretson underwent wrist surgery. Myers’ dual-threat standout performance of 866 passing yards and 310 rushing yards with 10 total touchdowns helped the team to its third-straight bowl win with a victory over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl in December.

Darell Garretson (10) of Utah State scrambles during an NCAA football game in Provo, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Diving is Logan Taele (62) of Brigham Young University. (Ravell Call/Deseret News)
Darell Garretson (10) of Utah State scrambles during an NCAA football game in Provo, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Diving is Logan Taele (62) of Brigham Young University. (Ravell Call/Deseret News)

Garretson finished his sophomore season with 1,140 yards and eight touchdowns through the air to go along with two touchdowns on 17 carries on the ground.

As a freshman in 2013, Garretson took over for the final eight games of the season after Keeton suffered a knee injury. Garretson won his first five starts as a freshman, a Utah State record, and finished the season 6-1 with a 21-14 victory over Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. He threw for 1,446 yards and 10 touchdowns, which remains a Utah State passing record for a freshman.

But competition seemed to crowd out Garretson’s position after the Aggies obtained Keeton a sixth-year medical redshirt granted by the NCAA in January. Myers also returned to the field for Utah State, though he is currently working out as a wide receiver during spring camp for the Aggies. Oregon transfer Damion Hobbs, a sophomore, will also be eligible to play for the Aggies after taking two spring camps with his new team, and redshirt freshman D.J. Nelson returned from an LDS church mission last August. A former Logan High standout, Nelson is the younger brother of former Utah State and BYU quarterback Riley Nelson.

With Garretson’s transfer and Myers’ move to receiver, Keeton, Hobbs and Nelson are expected to take the majority of snaps at quarterback during spring camp for the Aggies, which used four quarterbacks and then-senior wide receiver Ronald Butler in the wildcat by the end of the 2014 season.

Sophomore Tanner Curtis, an East High product, is the only other quarterback currently listed on Utah State’s roster. The Aggies signed Salem, Oregon, quarterback Cade Smith in February.

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