Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOGAN — Each week on ksl.com, we'll be doing a player profile on each of our local teams (I know, you're shocked I'm doing Utah State. So was I when they asked me). For my first profile, I'm shinning the spotlight on Utah State's leading receiver from their game at Utah: Travis Van Leeuwen.
Van Leeuwen is a local product, starting three years at Timpview High School. During his time there, he helped the T-Birds to a state record 36 straight wins and three straight state titles. He caught 65 balls his senior year for 1,111 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Travis Van Leeuwen came up big, but Travis Van Leeuwen's done that all training camp too.
–Matt Wells
After redshirting his freshman year, Van Leeuwen has consistently been in the mix for playing time — even starting three games at the end of his redshirt freshman year. He had caught 43 balls for 528 yards and three touchdowns. Then he shattered career highs in yards and catches, leading the Aggies with five catches for 107 yards, four of them coming in the first half alone.
His performance came as no surprise to head coach Matt Wells.
"Travis Van Leeuwen came up big, but Travis Van Leeuwen's done that all training camp too," he said.
Considering what Utah State lost in their receiving corp from last season, Matt Austin and Chuck Jacobs, the Aggies needed a performance like Van Leeuwen, and the rest of the receivers for that matter, gave last Thursday night.
Travis Van Leeuwen Career Stats
| YEAR | GAMES PLAYED | GAMES STARTED | RECEPTIONS | YARDS | TOUCHDOWNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10 | 3 | 16 | 171 | 0 |
| 2011 | 13 | 5 | 15 | 214 | 2 |
| 2012 | 13 | 2 | 12 | 143 | 2 |
"There was a lot of question marks about us heading into the season," Van Leeuwen said at Monday's press conference. "But I knew my guys in that room. We had a tough group of receivers, we've been putting in a lot of extra work." {#van leeuwen} Considering the talent, experience, and work ethic of this group, Van Leeuwen sees big things for them moving forward.
"I've felt like this is one of the best receiving corps Utah State has had because we have so many weapons. You can't take away one or two guys because we have three or four guys that can make plays."
