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LOGAN — When Utah State senior safety Brian Suite was a freshman, he was in his dorm room talking with cornerback Rashard Stewart and a few other members of their recruiting class one night about the big expectations heaped upon them.
Four years later, the Honolulu native feels like those expectations have come true.
“I think we really took that to heart,” Suite said at the Aggies’ media day ahead of the 2014 season. “Anyone who has been in the program has noticed that Utah State now is not the same Utah State that it was four or five years ago. Four or five years ago, it’s sad to say, but Utah State wasn’t seen as a relevant team, a top contender. Now we expect ourselves to be top contenders.”
The Aggies are coming off back-to-back bowl winning seasons, a first in Utah State football history. A year ago, with Suite as the starting safety every game, Utah State went 9-5 with a 7-1 mark in the Mountain West Conference.
Suite has been a big reason for the turnaround. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound safety is one of the few returning players in the Aggies’ secondary this year. He’s started all but one game since his sophomore year, and he’s ready for the task of being a leader.
“He’s the glue of the secondary, the guy has played a lot of football here,” coach Matt Wells said of Suite. “Completely invested, a team captain, leadership committee, three-year starter, off the charts in school. Everything he does is right and lines up with our core values.”
Of course, a defense that has consistently been rated among the top 15 in the nation is full of leaders. Seniors Zach Vigil and B.J. Larsen, as well as junior Kyler Fackrell, anchor a front seven that will look to cause plenty of grief to opposing offenses, starting Aug. 31 at Tennessee.
Fackrell, a preseason all-America, Bednarik, Nagurski and Butkus Award candidate, said a major part of the team’s success is how close the players are — both as a defense and bridging the offense-defense gap.
“We have a lot of fun,” said Fackrell, who racked up 82 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks and an interception as a junior. “Our team is pretty close, so we’re always talking to each other before the plays and during practice. (The offense) definitely make us better.”
The challenge as the offense and defense get better together is to pass along the will to win, without a sense of entitlement, to the next generation of players. It’s something Vigil takes seriously, too.
“The young guys are coming here and will find out that you don’t just win football games, go to bowl games and compete for conference championships,” said Vigil, who tallied 124 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a junior. “There is a lot of work that goes into that, and that’s a lot of work that goes in on your own.”
Vigil has taken on a leadership role with several players, specifically taking freshmen Chase Christiansen and Alex Huerta under his wing, a move that has proven big dividends through fall camp. Vigil is also looking forward to spending another year playing with his little brother in 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker Nick Vigil, who Wells said “is going to surprise a lot of people” in his sophomore season.
“I have an opportunity to play with my little brother, and that’s what I’m most excited about,” Zach Vigil said. “Not many people get a chance to do what we’re going to do this year.”
The offense will likely draw a lot of flash and attention this season, but even standout quarterback Chuckie Keeton knows that a good defense is the foundation of the Aggies’ season.
“It’s definitely a great confidence-booster,” Keeton said. “We can’t really take any more chances than we do. We’re still going to be as smart as we can with the football, but knowing that we have a good defense to get us the football back is definitely reassuring. What a lot of people don’t know is that a good defense generally leads to a good offense. The more you have the football, the more chances you have to score.”
