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Matt Wells faced a big challenge for his first signing class; making sure all the kids that committed while Gary Andersen was there, signed with the team today. As it turned out, he didn't need to worry about it.
"They remained very, very loyal," Wells said. "They were a dedicated class with the transition that happened right after the bowl game. They stuck with us."
Players such as Tyler Fox, a wide receiver out of Layton High School; and Wyatt Houston, a tight end from Tualatin, Oregon; committed nearly a year ago to the program. It was easy to speculate that with Andersen leaving, some of these players might decommit; but this was not the case.
"That was neat to see their loyalty, not just to a certain coach, but to the university, our football program and the direction we're going."
The 2013 signing class consisted of 24 players; 16 out of high school, 6 junior college transfers, and 2 return missionaries. In all, the class includes 14 recruits on offense, 9 on defense, and 1 on special teams. The greatest emphasis in Wells' first recruiting class was along the offensive line, signing 5 student athletes.
"It's encouraging to beef that area up, we needed that," Wells said. The Aggies return 4 of their starters on the offensive line, and have depth there in the senior and junior class. "A lot of these guys are young kids that we can get in the program and develop."
That was neat to see their loyalty, not just to a certain coach, but to the university, our football program and the direction we're going.
–Matt Glade
These players include Cody Boyer, Pine View High School; Andrew Chen, West Hills, CA. Joe Malanga, Bingham High School; Tyshon Mosley, Jordan High School; and Brandon Taukeiaho, also from Bingham High School.
Another area of emphasis for Wells, was the wide receiver position. They signed 2 high school players, Fox and Hayden Weichers out of Bingham; and 2 junior college transfers, Ronald Butler and Ryan Watson.
The Aggies also added 3 defensive lineman; Caden Andersen and Jacoby Wildman from Logan High School and Ricky Ali'ifua who returned from his mission in Oklahoma City; 2 players each at cornerback, linebacker, safety, running back and tight end.
"This class was really geared toward bringing in young, talented players on the offensive line and then junior college players at the skilled positions."
It's also hard to ignore the number of local players Wells brought in; 12 players from the state of Utah to be exact.
"Those kids will be where we always start first and foremost," Wells said. "They will always be the backbone of this program. We won a lot of games the last 2 years and a lot of those kids are state of Utah, high school products."
