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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State backup quarterback Bryan Black has not thrown a pass in a game in the last two years. And while he has not actually stepped on the field in an actual game this year, he looked like a veteran in the Aggies' first fall scrimmage here Saturday night.
The senior, who saw action in five games as a freshman in 2003, completing eight of 21 passes for 71 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions before not playing in 2004 and 2005, was a standout Saturday.
The 6-2, 196-pounder from Newman, Calif. connected on 12 of 15 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown in the 80-play scrimmage. He also led the Aggies to a score in a two-minute drill, connecting on three-of-four attempts for 63 yards on the 65-yard drive. The drive was capped by a two-yard Lynwood Johnson scoring plunge.
"Bryan did a good job operating," said USU head coach Brent Guy. "Bryan doesn't have the strongest arm of all the guys we have, but he made a lot of nice throws today. He had a couple of drops, but he made some nice throws, especially on the corner route and then in the last drill. Bryan has been around this program a long time so he should be a guy that you can count on to make throws like that."
After Leon Jackson III opened the scrimmage at quarterback, Black came in to see the most snaps of any quarterback. On the 16th play of the night, he dropped back and found sophomore wide receiver Otis Nelson for an 80-yard touchdown pass. That started a string of nine straight completions for Black, who had tosses of 26, 25 and 12 yards in the two-minute drill.
Jackson also led USU to a score on his turn in the two-minute offense. The senior quarterback and returning starter was six of eight for 64 yards, including a one-yard scoring toss to Kevin Robinson on the drive. Jackson also hit Robinson on a 42-yard pass earlier in the drive.
"The two-minute drill went well for the offense," Guy said. "They made some good plays and took the ball down there."
Several offensive players sat out the scrimmage due to minor nagging injuries, including tailback Marcus Cross, wide receiver Tony Pennyman and tight ends Rob Myers and Will Fausel. That gave more time to players like Nelson, who led all receivers with six catches for 129 yards and the 80-yard touchdown.
Others with big numbers on offense included Robinson with five catches for 97 yards and two scores and Tarell Richards with five grabs for 62 yards.
Freshman Jacob Actkinson led all rushers with 10 carries for 17 yards. Riley Nelson rushed six times for 16 yards, while Antraun McDaniel carried five times for 12 yards.
"We saw some guys make some good individual plays," Guy said. "We had some guys out and we were looking at some other spots, especially at the running back as we had a lot of young guys carrying the football. My impression is that we have got to get better, we have work to do, we have to find some spots and we have to get some guys healthy."
Defensively Ryan Taylor, who has been moved from linebacker to defensive end, came up with two sacks. Maurice Bates returned an interception, the game's only turnover, into a 20-yard return as he picked off quarterback Tom Mix on the Aggie six-yard line.
Utah State will hold two-a-day practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Aggies' second and final scrimmage of the fall will be on Thursday.
The Aggies will open their season at Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. That game will be televised on The mtn. After a trip to Arkansas on Sept. 9, USU will host Utah in its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 6:05 p.m.
Season tickets are available through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online at www.UahStateAggies.com or by calling 1-888-U-STATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.
UTAH STATE FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE STATS (August 19, 2006)
Scoring Summary 80 Pass, Otis Nelson from Bryan Black 32 FG, Justin Hamblin 17 Pass, Kevin Robinson from Riley Nelson 34 FG, Justin Hamblin 1 Run, Tom Mix 1 Pass, Kevin Robinson from Leon Jackson III 2 Run, Lynwood Johnson
Rushing Jacob Actkinson 10-17 Riley Nelson 6-16 Antraun McDaniel 5-12 Lynwood Johnson 3-8, 1 TD Tom Mix 1-8, 1 TD Bryan Black 1-3 Leon Jackson III 1-1 Jase McCormick 2-0 Mike Affleck 4-(-4) Derrvin Speight 4-(-5)
Passing Bryan Black 15-12-0, 234, 1 TD Leon Jackson III 12-7-0, 97, 1 TD Riley Nelson 7-3-0, 32, 1 TD Mike Affleck 5-3-0, 26 Jase McCormick 2-1-0, 4 Tom Mix 2-0-1, 0
Receiving Otis Nelson 6-129, 1 TD Kevin Robinson 5-97, 2 TD Tarell Richards 5-62 Preston Robinson 2-45 Xavier Bowman 2-21 Antraun McDaniel 2-10 Tanner Gatchell 1-8 Kendall Fisher 1-8 Ryan Bohm 1-8 Omar Sawyer 1-5
Defense Ryan Taylor, 2 sacks Maurice Bates, 1 interception
