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LOGAN — The days leading up to the Colorado State game went as expected for Utah State freshman quarterback Bishop Davenport.
The Spring, Texas, native did what any young quarterback buried in the depth chart does: He participated in developmental drills, worked to build up muscle mass in the weight room, and stood on the sidelines while his teammates repped 11-on-11 drills.
All according to plan.
Saturday, though, went anything but.
After the two quarterbacks ahead him in the depth chart were injured in the game, Davenport was thrust into the divisional matchup for his first in-game collegiate action. With no experience running the offense, he passed for 41 yards, rushed for a touchdown and helped Utah State to a come-from-behind 17-13 win.
"I kind of go in every game trying to prepare myself that I am going to get in," Davenport said after the game. But did he actually believe he would play? "No, not at all," he added.
As the team enters Week 8 of the season, Davenport's mindset may not change, but his preparation certainly will since the quarterback situation remains up in the air entering Utah State's pivotal matchup at Wyoming on Saturday night.
Starting quarterback Cooper Legas was knocked out of the Colorado State game with a concussion and is currently day-to-day. Backup quarterback Levi Willams, who replaced Legas only to leave the game with an injured ankle, is day-to-day, also.
"It is safe to say (Davenport) will get plenty of the reps this week with Levi beat up and Coop beat up and all of them being day-to-day," head coach Blake Anderson said with a chuckle during Monday's weekly press conference. "We'll get him reps and get him ready."
Concussions are something the Aggies coaching and training staff prides themselves in taking seriously. If there is any indication of Legas not being fully healthy by Saturday, it's doubtful he'll play.
The degree of Williams' ankle injury is unknown, but whether or not he can face off against his former team — which would make for a compelling storyline with former Aggies quarterback Andrew Peasley starting for the Cowboys — is also in question.
"They were pretty obvious injuries, and with protocols in place, it's going to really depend on what happens in the next 24-48 hours what kind of progress those guys make," Anderson said. "We'll follow the protocol. They are in the protocol, and if cleared will be ready for them to play. If not, we'll be ready to play without them."
If Davenport is relied upon again, there's confidence he can do it.
Anderson has seen it first hand when he traveled to Houston in December to see Davenport in a playoff game. In Texas 6A football, Davenport had a 68% completion rate for 6,433 yards and 77 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,667 yards on 232 carries.
In Fort Collins, it was evident the arm talent and mobility was there. It was far from perfect — he was just 3-of-9 passing, and at times fled the pocket unnecessarily. With film to evaluate and an expanded playbook, improvement is expected.
"He's been in meetings, and so there were a few game plan type things that — at least things he was aware of and knew what they were, but he did not rep any of those," Anderson said. "So we were pretty tight. We kept it to stuff that he'd seen a lot of reps at in fall camp, tried to make sure that things that he would feel comfortable with.
"There's a lot more we can do with him. He is very capable; he understands the system extremely well."
As for the rest of the team, the approach is the same, regardless of who plays quarterback.
"We've just got to focus on what we've got to do," defensive end Daniel Grzesiak said. "The offense is gonna score points, so I'm not really much worried about it.
"I believe in (Davenport.) I ride with Bishop. If Coop comes back, Levi comes back, I'm riding with any quarterback that we've got. They're prepared, they've been here; Bishop just got here in June but they all look good to me, so Imma ride with them."
