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Utah State head coach Matt Wells wasted no time this week naming a starter for this week's game at New Mexico; in fact, it was listed on the depth chart in the media packet handed out at Monday's press conference.
"Did it say that?....That's correct. Darell will start this week."
True freshman Darell Garretson will get his first start as an Aggie after finishing the Boise State game on Saturday night.
"He struggled a little bit the first couple series," Wells added. "Then I thought he got his composure and played well down the stretch. I'm excited about seeing what he'll do this week."
Garretson completed nine of his 14 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown; however, he did have a few miscues, throwing two interceptions.
"Chalk one up to being a freshman and chalk one up to it happens in a game on the vertical shot."
Garretson's first pick came in the third quarter, after a completing a 39 yard pass to Travis Reynolds; and with it being a freshman mistake, Wells doesn't anticipate a throw like that any time in the near future.
"It will never happen again, mark my word on that one."
What may have given Garretson the edge over Craig Harrison, was his performance on the final drive of the game; leading the Aggies on a 91 yard scoring drive, capped off by a four yard touchdown toss to Travis Van Leeuwen.
"The last drive, there were a lot of pluses to take out for him," Wells added.
Even with the recent news of DJ Tialavea's season ending foot injury, Garretson does have the benefit of have a deep receiving corps at his disposal; led by Reynolds, who finished with five catches for 145 yards against Boise State and leads the team with 496 yards receiving.
"As an offensive unit, I'm not surprised about us getting in a rhythm like that (the final drive) because we normally do," Reynolds said Monday. "It definitely gives us confidence going into the next game."
If the way Garretson finished is any indication of how he'll perform moving forward, Utah State's chances at a Mountain West Conference championship could still be alive.
