Posted by bambi2godzilla on 8/13/2007, 10:39 am Utah State hopes its new coordinator can make a difference. Editor's note: This is the second in the Idaho Statesman's daily series previewing WAC football teams, in reverse order of predicted finish in the preseason media poll. Coming Monday: Louisiana Tech. In the third year of Brent Guy's massive rebuilding project at Utah State, the former Boise State defensive coordinator reached out to an old friend to revive the Aggies' dormant offense. The Aggies ranked 117th out of 119 Division I-A schools in scoring offense last season. They ranked 114th in total offense and 111th in pass offense. And that was with Utah State's glimmer of offensive hope, quarterback Riley Nelson, under center for the final seven games. Nelson is on a LDS mission. Enter Darrell Dickey, formerly the head coach at North Texas, who Guy has charged with changing the Aggies' offensive fortunes. And quickly. Guy, 4-19 in two seasons including last year's 1-11 campaign, knows time is running out. "Before we can talk about winning seasons and championships, we have to talk about winning the first game," Guy said. In order to get that done, he's turned over offensive responsibilities to Dickey, whose offense at North Texas averaged just 12.8 points per game last season. Dickey, a former Kansas State quarterback, went 42-64 in nine seasons at North Texas, but won four consecutive Sun Belt titles from 2001 to 2004. "I have a lot of confidence in Darrell," Guy said. "He's going to help our offense a lot." How much depends on what kind of play the Aggies can get out of the quarterback position. Without Nelson, Utah State could turn to Leon Jackson III, who lost his starting job after five games (all losses) last season, or junior-college transfer Sean Setzer. The competition continues into fall practice. "Sean doesn't get rattled too much. That's one thing that happened with Leon in the past. We haven't seen that out of Sean yet," said Guy, who highlighted Jackson's experience and running abilities as his chief edge in the quarterback battle. Whoever is under center, the team has faith in what Dickey can offer. They'll need it. The leading returning running back is Aaron Lesue, who gained 51 yards last season. The Aggies do bring back four starters on the offensive line, though they will start a 283-pound freshman at left tackle, and standout receiver Kevin Robinson. But Dickey has his work cut out for him. "The offensive guys seem to really respect him more than I've seen since I've been there. They really trust him. They have a lot of faith in him," said junior defensive end Ben Calderwood, one of 18 returning defensive players who started at least three games last season. As bad as the offense was last season, the defense wasn't much better. Utah State ranked 117th in scoring defense and 116th in total defense. With so many returners, there is excitement on that side of the ball. And desire throughout the program to change course. "Win. That's all they want to concern themselves with," said Guy, in the middle of a five-year contract. "Our players and staff know it's time for us do that, to be productive, to give ourselves a chance to win." ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Returning starters: Seven offense, 11 defense, one specialist Players to watch: C Ryan Tonnemacher, G Pace Jorgensen, WR Kevin Robinson, DE Ben Calderwood, MLB Jake Hutton, LB Paul Igboeli Coach: Brent Guy, third season at Utah State (4-19) Season opener: vs. UNLV, Aug. 30 First WAC game: vs. San Jose State, 6 p.m. Scheduling fact: The Aggies face three Mountain West teams (UNLV, Wyoming and Utah) and Oklahoma in nonconference play. Scary statistic: Opponents scored six defensive touchdowns (five interception returns, one fumble return) against Utah State last season.
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WAC Football Preview: Aggies look for offensive help
Brian Murphy
The Idaho Statesman
8/12/07
Last season: 1-11, 1-7 WAC
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