Utah State football positional preview: Kirk Garner talks about his RB room

LOGAN — The loss of their two most productive running backs from a year ago, headlined by second-team all-Mountain West performer Rahsul Faison, was not ideal for the Aggies.

Fortunately for Utah State, the cupboard is not bare at that position heading into the 2025 college football season. For starters, the Aggies were able to bring in a couple of tailbacks from the transfer portal in Miles Davis (BYU) and Javen Jacobs (New Mexico) — athletes that flashed at times at their previous college programs. The emergence of former Ridgeline High star and true freshman Noah White during spring camp also gives new USU running backs coach Kirk Garner some more comfort heading into next Saturday's home and season opener against UTEP.

Davis or Jacobs appear to have the inside track at starting against the Miners in a week and a half. After all, both running backs have qualified for level black in new USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall's developmental system, which is tiered, as Mendenhall explained last month at Mountain West football media days, "much like the martial arts."

Garner, who coached the tailbacks at New Mexico last season, spoke highly of both Jacobs and Davis during a recent interview with The Herald Journal. Garner, who also coached alongside Mendenhall from 2018-21 when Mendenhall was the head coach at Virginia, is obviously very familiar with Jacobs, having mentored him last season.

"His leadership," Garner answered when asked what he enjoys the most about coaching and being around Jacobs. "I love his personality as a young man, the things that he's willing to do to that in which we call a true Aggie, so giving of himself for others. So, his impact in the community. He's been handing out water bottles and popsicles to little kids over the summer. And also his leadership for this team. So he took in the freshmen, Nehemiah (Washington) and Ravian (Larry), and over the summer kind of did the installs for them to catch them up to speed."

USU fans might remember Jacobs as he was a difference maker for the Lobos in last season's 50-45 road victory over the Aggies. The then-sophomore rushed for 42 yards on seven carries, caught two passes for 29 yards and returned three kickoffs for 57 yards before breaking his collarbone in the second half. Jacobs (5-10, 190) came through with a 21-yard touchdown reception and a 15-yard scoring scamper for New Mexico in that game.

This is Jacobs' third collegiate stop as he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Arizona State.

Davis (5-11, 215) came to USU as a graduate transfer after spending the previous five seasons at BYU. The Las Vegas native was very productive at times for the Cougars, highlighted by a 131 yard on 13 carries performance against Wyoming in 2022. Davis, who has one year of eligibility left, contributed with 76 yards on 18 carries and 68 yards on five receptions during the 2024 campaign.

"He's a bigger back with elite speed," said Garner of Davis, who was a wide receiver in high school and a state track & field champion in the 4x200-meter relay. "You know, when he first came into this program adjusting to what our standards are through the spring, he definitely changed states from spring to summer, from a body type standpoint and a work standpoint, which then showed for fall camp on the field."

Davis and Jacobs were the first two athletes Garner mentioned when asked what Aggie tailbacks have made the biggest transformations since spring camp.

"Miles Davis specifically from his body type," Garner said. "From the spring Javen has earned black (status), so from a workout standpoint he's one of the strongest players on our team. Miles has jumped colors to black in his summer, lost a couple of pounds, which definitely helped his speed in game play, and also his (football) IQ of what we're asking from him in the running back room (has improved)."

White, like Davis and Jacobs, also caught the attention of Garner during spring camp — enough so that the former Ridgeline all-state performer was placed on scholarship. The Millville native originally signed with USU as a preferred walk-on before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

White rushed for a whopping 2,002 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior for a 13-0 Ridgeline squad in 2021. Garner listed White as one of the top three running backs on the depth chart during his interview with the HJ. White, Jacobs and Davis were among the 31 players that got to select their jersey numbers during USU's first draft last Saturday. The right to choose a number is part of Mendenhall's 'Earned Not Given' philosophy.

"Yeah, Noah's skill set was evident from spring ball," Garner said. "He has the ability to make people miss and also has the ability to catch out of the backfield. So right now he's being trained in both receiving and running specifically. But he's very versatile, so shifts, motions, he could be in the backfield and you can also get him in jet motion."

White (5-9, 190) suffered an injury during the summer, "but he's ready to rock and roll" now, Garner asserted.

The Aggies returned two of their running backs from a year ago in Derrick Jameson (6-0, 215) and Tre Kofe (5-9, 205). Kofe redshirted last season as a freshman, while Jameson played in four games at the end of his sophomore season. Jameson busted off a memorable 72-yard jaunt to paydirt against Washington State on his first collegiate career last November and accounted for 140 yards and two TDs on 15 carries during the '24 campaign.

"I think that DJ (Jameson) has a great skillset," Garner said. "I'm just working with him to always keep his foot on the gas petal. He has the potential to be ready to get his name called at any time. Just for him, obviously with a strong room, he's just eager and ready for any opportunity to prove that he can be the starting guy. So, he has to always, always, always stay ready to be able to fulfill the role as a starting back, but also give great effort on special teams."

Kofe, who rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught a trio of scoring passes as a prep senior at Utah 6A power Corner Canyon, is the older brother of Kaylie Kofe, who sparkled as a true freshman as the starting setter for USU's volleyball team last year.

The Aggies have three true freshman tailbacks on the roster in Larry (5-11, 195), Washington (6-0, 220) and Clyde Taulapapa, who, like Kofe and White, served a mission before enrolling at USU.

Larry produced an impressive 3,371 rushing yards and 43 TDs during his time at Isabel (Oklahoma) High, plus he was a state champion sprinter for the track & field team.

A broken arm, suffered before the season started, limited Washington to just a pair of games during his senior season at Decatur (Washington) High. Washington was productive in those two outings, though, as he rushed for 153 yards and two TDs on 14 carries. Washington was a game-changer for the Golden Gators as a junior as he racked up 1,109 yards and 16 TDs on the ground in just eight games.

Taulapapa (6-0, 210) played on back-to-back state title teams as a junior and senior at Kahuku (Hawaii) High. He gained 309 yards on the ground as a senior and 338 as a junior.

How have these three true freshman come along since arriving in Cache Valley?

"We hold everybody to the same standard, so regardless of year, once we install (our system) the expectation is for you to understand what is going on," Garner answered. "Obviously, from a collegiate standpoint your football IQ might be a little bit behind others who have experienced a collegiate play call or certain combos and stuff like like, but they've been working very hard ever since they've arrived in Logan in July to get those installs, to watch film. … So, they're eager. They've had a couple of reps through nine on seven, they received a couple of team reps in the past scrimmage."

Garner has high expectations for the athletes in his room, starting with how they carry themselves from an effort and good teammate standpoint.

"For them to exemplify this program and our program values, so the standard of total effort needs to be shown on tape at all times, regardless of if you have the ball or not," Garner answered when asked about expectations he has for his running backs. "So, there's multiple ways that you can impact the game of football without the ball in your hands, so getting that touchdown (allowing) block, celebrating with teammates, when you have a great play, handing the ball to the ref and not celebrating and getting your dance moves on. That's the biggest thing is to exemplify team."

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