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LOGAN — When true freshman Kent Myers suits up as Utah State’s starting quarterback at Hawaii on Saturday night, he’ll become the fourth to do so for the Aggies in 2014.
Utah State (5-3, 2-1 MW) has faced more than its fair share of quarterback adversity this season, but that won’t stop Aggies coach Matt Wells from pressing forward with the guys he has.
“The plane will be ready for us and we’ll get on it,” Wells said. “Nobody thinks we can do it, whether media or fans or whoever it is. We’re going to keep trying to prove people wrong. I’ve never seen anything like this. There are things that are so much out of our control. We’re going to line up and play really, really hard. We’re going to give great effort.”
Wells revealed at his weekly press conference Monday morning that one-time backup quarterback Darrell Garretson will be out for the rest of the season after wrist surgery. The status of former third-string signal caller Craig Harrison isn’t known, but he is expected to miss at least this weekend’s game with a knee injury.
“I was told it went well,” Wells said of Garretson’s surgery. “It was a little bit more than we thought, so he’s out for the year.”
Myers, who Wells said was receiving no snaps in training camp and an incredibly limited number through the first half of the season, is set to start against the Warriors. DJ Nelson will also travel with the team as his primary backup — but beyond that, Wells isn’t sure which quarterbacks will make the trip, as some of the other signal callers on the roster — like Oregon transfer Damion Hobbs — aren’t eligible to play.
“We’ll probably take Chuckie so he can help mentor those young puppies,” Wells said. “I don’t know about Craig or Darell just because I don’t know about their injuries right now.”
The Aggies feel confident with Myers at quarterback, though. The 6-foot, 185-pound teenage quarterback was the Texas Class 5A District 11 Most Valuable Player and he was highly recruited by the Utah State coaching staff coming out of Sachse High School in Rowlett, Texas. He finished his prep career completing 71 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards and 42 touchdowns with only five interceptions, while rushing for 559 yards and 10 scores, as well.
“I thought he was mobile,” Wells said of Myers. “He obviously did some things that I thought were going to be very conducive to what we do on offense. He throws the ball on the run very, very well. He’s actually a better pocket passer today than I thought he was coming out of high school.”
Myers also played shortstop for Sachse’s baseball team, where he earned 5A District 11 first-team honors as a junior while batting .340 with four doubles, 21 runs scored and 13 RBI. The shortstop-turned-Division-I-quarterback also received offers from Air Force, Navy and New Mexico before committing to the Aggies.
His teammates are glad he came.
“I think Kent is a great player,” tight end Jefferson Court said. “He’s a great quarterback. You saw him run a couple of times last weekend and he did really well. He threw it well. I don’t think we’re going to skip a beat. We’re excited to wrap our arms around him and play.”
The uncertainty at quarterback has led to Wells and the rest of the coaching staff putting increased responsibility on the rest of the team, including the Aggie defense. Senior safety Brian Suite said Utah State’s ability to force three-and-out against other teams has been a key to their success amid so much adversity.
“I feel like those three-and-outs were very crucial,” said Suite, who had an interception last week against UNLV. “They got our offense back on the field and kept them from ever really getting going.”
The rest of the offense is also buying into Wells’ "fun" mentality of 2014 with its fourth quarterback.
“It makes it exciting every week,” Court said. “This week we get to go with Kent Myers. We’ll practice with him, and I’m sure he’ll do great.”
