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LOGAN — Second-year Utah State football coach Matt Wells knows it’s a cliche, but he said it regardless during his opening remarks of the Aggies’ Media Day on the Cache Valley campus.
College football is back. And it came just in time.
“I’m always excited to start the year,” Wells said. “It doesn’t matter what level of football you are at. It is completely coach talk, but that’s OK. It’s a new year and it’s a new challenge for every one of us.”
Wells’ enthusiasm has spread to his players, no doubt thanks to what may be one of the top senior classes in Utah State football history. Senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton has recovered from a knee injury, and he will begin testing it in live practice sessions Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. at the Aggies’ practice field.
The Aggies don’t go into camp looking for new players to step up or a battle at vital positions like quarterback. The team was picked to finished second to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference’s Mountain Division, with 14 starters who have experience from the inaugural MWC championship game last year.
Keeton is considered a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate and watch-list honoree for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Year award, among other honors. Although his physical attributes have impressed, Wells said its the Houston native’s mental capabilities that astound him every day.
I'm glad to be back. Rehab went extremely well. I'm feeling 100 percent, ready to get back here with my teammates. I'm looking forward to getting back here and competing again.
–Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton
“The guy has an unbelievable ability to retain knowledge,” Wells said of Keeton. “What you tell him, the guy doesn’t forget. It’s really cool, and it’s really challenging as a quarterback coach. He’ll call you out.”
Keeton, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament midway through the season against BYU, said he is also ready for his final year in Aggie blue.
“I’m glad to be back,” he added. “Rehab went extremely well. I’m feeling 100 percent, ready to get back here with my teammates. I’m looking forward to getting back here and competing again.”
Working back from the injury has lent for extra motivation for Keeton in offseason workouts, offensive lineman Joe Summers said.
“He’s a really driven person, especially after last year,” Summers said. “He’s totally focused now on making the season a success. Even off the field, when we get together to do anything, he’s taken ownership of the team and he’s realized this is his last year. Just like the rest of the seniors, we have to make the most of it.”
The motivation has also spread to Keeton’s teammates, especially to his fellow seniors.
“When we first came to Utah State we were talking about being one of the classes that helps change this program around. I think we really took that to heart,” senior safety Brian Suite said. “Anyone who has been around the program that the Utah State now is not the same as it was four or five years ago. Sad to say, Utah State wasn’t seen as a top contender. Now, we expect to be top contenders. We don’t want to be top contenders, we expect to be top contenders. I feel like that’s a big nod to everyone who came before us, and everyone who was in the program since we got here.”
