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LAS VEGAS — Between 53 new players taking the field at Maverik Stadium in Logan and changing both the offensive and defensive coordinators, the list of questions about the Aggies' ability to compete this season is lengthy.
Utah State appears to be one of the biggest unknowns in the Mountain West near the close of the two-day media event for the conference.
In reality, how good are the Aggies?
"We don't even know how good we are until we get out there," Aggies quarterback Cooper Legas said.
Utah State head coach Blake Anderson, who said Legas has earned the starting spot on his team, agreed with his quarterback.
"We don't know who we are," he said. "I think we have an identity in the sense that we know we have to outwork people, we have to outrun them, we have outhit them. We're not probably more talented, but we can win in some other ways. But that's the only thing we know because everything else is completely new to us."
Legas said one challenge facing the team this season is to make sure that everyone is on the same page. It's a challenge every season, he admits, but it's "how well can you get 100 something guys to work together and be on the same page."
"That's no easy task for any team," Legas said. "So whoever can do that the best usually comes out on top."
The challenge for Utah State, according to Anderson, is whether he can get all his players to move in the right direction to a successful season. "Can we get this group all moving in the same direction fast enough to be competitive early in a tough schedule? I would say that would be probably our biggest hurdle."
Despite the many changes the Aggies have experienced this offseason — that includes players graduating and several others hitting the transfer portal — Legas said the morale in the locker room has grown, and everyone on the team wants to be where they're at.
Offseason work
The Aggies, who ultimately made the decision to cancel their spring game earlier this year due to attrition, needed to add an incredible number of players in order to be competitive in their league and to prepare for potential injuries. It's meant a busy season for the head coach and his staff in their attempts to fill a roster.
"I haven't even taken the covers off of either one of my grills," Anderson said. "You don't add 39 new scholarship players and 30 transfers without bringing in three times to five times that many guys for one spot."
His work, though, seems to have brought some early results. Anderson said his team is "deeper" this year and they've "filled a lot of holes that we had" to add depth to the roster — a key area that Utah State struggled with last season when injuries started to pile up.
"So on paper, you feel good about where we're at," he said.
The Aggies aren't alone in their intense recruiting. Teams across the country have rushed to adapt to the relatively new transfer portal rules in an effort to bring in new talent that can immediately help the team.
While there have been discussions at the NCAA level about changing the recruiting calendar and the transfer portal window to make it a more bearable schedule for the coaching staff, Anderson said he is simply focused on being competitive in this new reality.
In addition to a slew of roster adjustments, the coaching staff also saw some changes in Logan. Both coordinators, Ephraim Banda and Anthony Tucker, left to pursue other coaching opportunities, which led to the hire of defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen in February, who previously worked with Anderson at Arkansas State.
"(Cauthen) has many years of experience coaching — a lot of knowledge," Utah State defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka said, adding that although their defense may look similar, it's "fundamentally sound."
Anderson will assume the role of offensive coordinator, which means he'll be the primary play-caller on offense during each game, as well as his additional responsibilities as a head coach.
"I had to ask my wife if she was OK with it," Anderson joked. "She was, as long as we score a lot of points."
Both Coach Anderson and Cooper Legas have made comments about having no idea how good they will be this year. USU adds 53 new players to their roster - something that could lead either to great success or immense difficulty this year for the Aggies. @cooperlegas@CHbanderson
— Andrew Hyde (@ahyde05) July 20, 2023
Future opportunities for Aggies and the Mountain West
Among the teams in the recent Big 12 Conference expansion were three teams from the American Athletic Conference: Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. All three had recent football success, and the departure of those teams greatly mitigates the football resume of the AAC.
Should the Aggies (or any Mountain West team) find success in the coming years, they could have a chance to play in the expanded 12 team College Football Playoff beginning in 2024 if the Mountain West emerges as one of the six best conferences in the nation.
"If I understand the rules right, the champion of the top six leagues in the country are automatically in, and there is not a doubt in my mind we're in the top six," Anderson said. "This league is the best Group of Five league in the country, in my opinion, especially with all the transition and adjustments and fallout throughout the other leagues that were battling for that position."
Looking ahead to the 2023 season
With all of the many questions for the Aggies this season, it feels a little like deja vu to its 2021 Mountain West championship season, which similarly began with a myriad of transfers, Anderson said.
"This season, just the environment going in, you feel very similar," he said. "We realize that we've brought a lot of guys in that can impact our team."
Legas said it's all about mentality for the players and coaches. In 2021, he said, the team had a great mentality and believed it could beat every team on the schedule, despite being the underdogs in their league. This year, "We're ready for a fight every game, and we know that we can come out on top."
The Aggies begin their season on Sept. 2 in Iowa City, Iowa, as they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on their home field — a challenging place to play and win a football game for anyone. But Legas and Anderson expressed their respect for Iowa and their excitement to test themselves against a good opponent early on in the season.
Anderson added that playing against a high-tier opponent like Iowa in their home stadium "will be enjoyable, but only if we can find a way to be competitive and maybe win that game."
