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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head football coach Brent Guy announced Monday that Sean Setzer will be the starting quarterback for USU's season-opener Saturday, Aug. 30 at UNLV.
Setzer, a senior from Portland, Ore. (Wilson HS/Garden City JC), was in a tight battle with sophomore signal-caller Diondre Borel, an Oakley, Calif. (Freedom HS), native. Freshman Exavier Johnson, a native of Van Nuys, Calif. (Birmingham HS), was also in the mix.
"Sean has done the best job of running our entire offense and doing everything that we need to do with our offense," Guy said. "He has a little more huddle command right now and that's simply because he's older and has more experience. Diondre is making great strides and Sean knows that Diondre is a person we trust to put into the ball game. You have to start somewhere and you have to start someone for that first series. We feel we have two guys that we can use."
Guy said that while Setzer will be the starting quarterback, Borel will see action as well.
"Sean Setzer will be our starting quarterback for the UNLV game but we anticipate Diondre Borel will be in the game a significant amount of time because he adds another dimension to our offense with his running skills," Guy said.
Setzer was in the battle for the starter spot last fall, but was slowed by injury. He saw action in one game, playing against Boise State and was 1-of-1 passing for two yards.
Setzer came to USU from Garden City Junior College, where he was a second-team all-Jayhawk Conference selection in 2006 after throwing for 2,034 yards and 13 touchdowns, while hitting 168-of-292 pass attempts. He also rushed for seven scores. Setzer was a first-team all-conference quarterback and defensive back at Wilson HS in Portland, Ore., where he garnered back-to-back league Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as earning second-team all-state honors as a senior. Setzer also played baseball and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a first baseman in 2004.
Borel played in eight games last season, seeing action as a wide receiver. He had one catch for eight yards as well as five rushes for 10 yards with a season-long of eight yards. Borel's lone reception came against Boise State, while he had a season-high two carries against Nevada for eight yards. He also had three kick returns for 34 yards with a long of 19 against Hawai'i.
Borel threw for 1,492 yards and 15 touchdowns, while completing 58 percent of his attempts his senior season at Freedom HS. He also rushed 137 times for 744 yards and 12 more scores.
Utah State opens the 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at UNLV at 8 p.m. (MT). After playing at 21st-ranked Oregon on Sept. 6 at 1:30 p.m. (MT), the Aggies host in-state rival Utah in their home-opener on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. (MT). USU continues its three-game homestand by opening WAC action against Idaho on Saturday, Sept. 20 for USU Ag Day. The Aggies then host another in-state rival in BYU on Friday, Oct. 3. After road games at San Jose State and Nevada on Oct. 11 and 18, respectively, USU hosts Fresno State in its annual Homecoming game on Oct. 25. The Aggies remain at home to take on Hawai'i on Nov. 1 on USU Military Appreciation Day. USU plays at Boise State on Nov. 8 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15 before concluding regular-season action on Nov. 29 against New Mexico State on Aggie Appreciation Day.
The Aggies were picked ninth in the WAC preseason poll despite finishing seventh in last season's standings with a 2-10 overall record and 2-6 in league action. USU has 17 starters returning among 39 lettermen. Of those lettermen, 12 are seniors, which matches last season for the most in Guy's four-year tenure.
Aggie football tickets are available in person through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.
