Return of Keeton, Fackrell headline Aggies' season opener


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LOGAN — Aggie football is back and after last year's 10-win season, the Aggies have one thing on their mind, a conference championship.

Granted, the home opener against the Thunderbirds won't affect the standings in the Mountain West, but it has everything to do with starting the season off on the right foot.

Here are the major storylines heading into the first game of the season:

Chuckie Keeton is back

Once again Keeton is entering the season coming off an injury. The knee injury sustained last season against Wake Forest has healed and Keeton is 100 percent heading into Week One.

Keeton only played three games last season and did not play up to his ability. Keeton completed just 55 percent of his passes, averaged 4.6 yards per pass and threw two touchdowns and four interceptions. Keeton's best season was his sophomore campaign where he threw for 3,373 yards and 27 touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes. Against the Thunderbirds, Keeton needs to start strong if the Aggies are to have a successful season and live up to his preseason All-Conference nod.

Kyler Fackrell, also, is back

Fackrell needs to have a good game against Southern Utah to get his confidence back after tearing his ACL before halftime in last year's Week One contest against Tennessee. In 2013, Fackrell had 82 total tackles, five sacks and a team-leading 13.0 tackles for loss. Fackrell also forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown.

Fackrell, picked to be the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, will need to have a standout season if he plans to hear his name called in the 2016 NFL draft.

Will the passing game improve in 2015?

Utah State finished the 2014 season ranked 92nd in passing offense. That probably had something to do with the school using a fourth-string quarterback for parts of last season. Even so, 2015 will need to see considerable improvement in the passing game if Utah State has any shot of dethroning Boise State.

After averaging less than 200 yards through the air last season, the pressure is on the Aggies to throw the ball more. Keeton proved during his freshman and sophomore seasons that he's more than capable of accurate passing. It's on his deep receiving corps to get the job done. Hunter Sharp, Brandon Swindell and Devonte Robinson will see the field a lot and will need to take advantage of every opportunity, especially after the dismissal of standout receiver JoJo Natson.


Nathan Harker is a sports writing intern currently enrolled at Brigham Young University majoring in broadcast journalism. Nathan can be reached at nathan.harker32@gmail.com or via twitter @nharker3207.

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