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LOGAN — Did anyone feel an eerie similarity between the Aggies' games at San Diego State and at Connecticut?
Ike Larsen secured the win at the last minute in both games, McCae Hillstead struggled and was ultimately injured in both, and Cooper Legas sparked a fire and led the Aggies to a comeback victory in both.
One key difference between the games, however, came a few days after each win. Following Connecticut, and in later press conferences, head coach Blake Anderson said a player should not lose his starting job to injury, and even though Legas did a "phenomenal job" filling in for the Aggies, it was not certain whether he would retain the starting job once Hillstead was healthy.
He didn't, though; Legas was benched following their close home loss to Fresno State.
Anderson said that after reviewing the film, Legas had been too careless with the ball, threw multiple interceptions, and threw several more than should have been intercepted. Hillstead took the reins in the following week as the Aggies suffered a brutal road loss to San Jose State.
In Legas' third opportunity as a starting quarterback when he entered the game following Hillstead's injury at San Diego State, he was careful with the ball. And the decision at quarterback moving forward for the Aggies was vastly different than after their win against UConn.
"This will be Coop's offense to run throughout the remainder of the season," Anderson said, "assuming that we don't have any injuries, and that he just continues to do what he's done over the last few weeks — just grow up and continue to mature."
Anderson was complimentary of his quarterback's performance, decision-making, and, perhaps, above all, his character.
"Could not be more proud of a guy that was put in a situation that was difficult and really handled it perfectly," Anderson said. "He's gotten better, he's grown up, he's earned every respect that he deserves from the team and from the fans and from me, as well, and I'll give him every opportunity to finish up as a starter."
Legas, who anticipated to be the starter all year, was not given much time to digest the news that he would be taking the reins of the offense once again before addressing the media.
"I mean, he actually just barely told me like 10 seconds ago," Legas said. "So I just barely found out, but that's awesome. I was planning on running (the offense) this whole year, and I've been ready to do so. … It feels good to have it back and I'm ready to keep playing well."
The early reasoning for benching Legas, and one of the primary complaints that Anderson had of his quarterback, was that he looked jittery and skittish in the pocket, leading to bad decisions that caused turnovers. Funny enough, it appears that benching Legas has helped him to play with more confidence.
"I feel like I've had less stress and there's been a lot less pressure, because in my mind, it's like what are they going to do? They've already benched me, they can't really do anything worse than that," Legas said. "So, just playing free and not really having any worries and just going out and doing what I know I can do."
After being benched for the first time this season, Legas' passing yardage has improved from 128 yards per game to about 280 yards per game, while maintaining a very similar completion percentage (about 68%). He has also doubled his touchdown-to-interception ratio from 1.5 to 3.0.
Additionally, the Aggies have lost only one game in which Legas has appeared (Fresno State) since he was originally benched.
It's stats like theoe that have led some to argue the Aggies' offense has looked more confident with Legas at the helm.
"I do think that (Legas as quarterback) brings a presence to the field that McCae doesn't have yet, but I also felt McCae did a really good job when he came in at Air Force and when he played against JMU," Anderson said. "He didn't go out there and act like a freshman.
"I think part of most of our problems is just we've struggled up front, we're beat up. … I just don't want to point fingers at anybody. We just have to develop collectively if that makes sense," Anderson added. "This is a bigger picture than which quarterback plays. This is a collective conversation on offense."
Regardless of what it was, Legas has won the starting quarterback job back with a chance to help his team become bowl eligible in their three remaining games, all of which are winnable games.
Legas, who is a senior, does have a "super-senior" season of eligibility available due to the COVID year. Despite the messy situation that has endured all season long, Legas said he would love to lead Utah State to a bowl game this year, stay for another year, and lead the Aggies to an "even better year next year."
"I'm going to sit down with him when the season's over; I'd love to have him back," Anderson said. "As I've said in the beginning, man, I love the kid. I love the way he works, I love his attitude, I'd love to see him come back for another year, but that's going to be between him and his family, and I'm sure they're as frustrated as they can be with me. They should.
"That's their son, and they want him out on the field, and hopefully, I think that when everybody looks back at this, they see that the intentions were in the right place."
What Legas ultimately will decide to do next season remains to be seen.
