Breaking down the Aggies' offense ahead of their 2023 campaign

LOGAN — With virtually a brand new personnel, it can be difficult to know what to expect from the Utah State offense this season. With just over a week until game day, we break down each position group and some of the key players to watch at each spot.

Quarterback

Head coach Blake Anderson named Cooper Legas as the team's starting quarterback for the season prior to fall camp. Legas enters the 2023 as a senior but has one additional year of eligibility available after this season if he wanted to stay.

He started eight games last season after Logan Bonner suffered an injury, and, most notably, led the Aggies to a win in the LA Bowl against Oregon State in 2021. Against the Beavers, Legas completed his first collegiate pass attempt for a 62-yard touchdown reception.

Levi Williams adds additional depth to the position. After playing for three seasons at Wyoming, Williams joined the Aggies last season as an experienced fourth-year transfer. Though he boasted over 2,000 passing yards at Wyoming, he completed just five of his 17 passing attempts for 28 yards in 2022 at Utah State.

Williams, like Legas, has an additional year of eligibility available after this season.

Running back

After starting running back Calvin Tyler Jr. graduated, the room for Utah State was left with a big hole to fill. Anderson said three backs — Robert Briggs Jr., Davon Booth and Rahsul Faison — will all contribute for the Aggies this season.

Briggs enters his sophomore season a year after he contributed 4.8 yards per carry on 74 attempts behind Tyler. Anderson had high praise for Briggs near the end of fall camp, and said he "has not put the ball on the ground at all." He added that Briggs is one of the fastest guys on the team.

Junior college transfers Booth and Faison were the two other players Anderson praised in fall camp. Booth was with the team in the spring, but Faison was added to the roster over the summer and has the least experience in the offense.

Receiver and tight end

The receivers are led by slot receiver Terrell Vaughn, who had a breakout season last year for the Aggies. Vaughn recorded 56 receptions and finished with 624 receiving yards, and was picked to the Phil Steele preseason All-Mountain West first team this season.

The remainder of the pass catching opportunities will be split between various receivers. Among those sharing the reps, Anderson said, is redshirt sophomore Otto Tia; redshirt senior Kyle Van Leeuwen; junior college transfers Micah Davis, Kahanu Davis and Arcelles Johnson; and Stanford transfer Colby Bowman.

Anderson said he plans to keep the receivers fresh on offense by switching them out frequently and to give everyone opportunities. He also plans to involve more tight ends in the receiving game, too.

"We've been a bit narrow-minded in terms of using our skill in the past couple years," Anderson said. "I think we can spread it around a lot more."

Josh Sterzer, Broc Lane and Parker Buchanan return at tight end this season, bringing a vital measure of experience to the offense. The Aggies also added Will Monney, a freshman from Springville High, and Isaiah Alonzo, a junior college transfer, to support the unit.

Alonzo, however, is no longer with the program, Anderson confirmed to KSL.com. He played in the final fall camp scrimmage Saturday.

Offensive line

The offensive line is arguably the least experienced unit for the Aggies on offense this season. They return just one starter in Wade Meacham and one other player with some experience in junior Cole Motes, who started four games at right tackle last year.

Anderson, however, seemed content with his group.

His team may be young and inexperienced, but he believes it's talented and has eight players worthy to be included in the starting lineup. Among the talented additions to the team that Anderson mentioned were Ralph Frias III, a transfer from Arizona State, and junior college transfer Aloali'i Maui. Both will fill important gaps on the offensive line.

Kicking units

The Aggies return junior placekicker Elliot Nimrod, who has served as the kickoff specialist for the past two seasons, and add junior college transfer placekicker William Testa. In the junior college ranks, Testa made 34 of his 52 field goal attempts.

Special teams coach Nick Paremski said no decision has been made on a starting placekicker, and a decision is going to "come down to the wire." He added that both of the two placekickers have been doing a great job in fall.

The starting job at punter, however, is an entirely different story. Stephen Kotsanlee will enter his fourth year as the team's starting punter, and was recently named to the preseason Ray Guy Award watchlist.

Kotsanlee has punted 157 times for the Aggies in his career, with an average of 42.5 yards per punt, the fifth-best average in school history. On a team full of newcomers, Kotsanlee will be one of the most experienced players on the team.

Ryan Marks, a redshirt freshman from Farmington, will likely act as the backup punter.

Jacob Garcia, who served as the long snapper for the Aggies the past two seasons, will return again this season for his junior year with the Aggies, adding even more experience to a highly-seasoned special teams unit.

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