Details, technique and fundamentals: Aggies' fall camp underway in unique rebuilding year

LOGAN — Utah State fall camp started up last Friday prior to a unique season of college football, both for the Aggies and the nation.

Amid conference realignment drama unfolding nationally and rumors of potential Mountain West expansion locally, the Aggies have been hard at work in an attempt to get everyone on the same page with virtually a brand new team.

One of the new faces in fall camp this year is defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen, who isn't a stranger to rebuilding a college football team. He's in his fifth rebuild in a row, he said.

"We're having to reteach," he said, speaking of the new players acquired in the offseason. "The good thing is, is that they've come in to work every day. The energy is really, really high."

Among other aspects, Cauthen said fundamentals and technique are the focal points of fall camp this year. He mentioned cornerback newcomers Jaiden Francois from Central Florida and Simeon Harris from Colorado as standout players thus far in camp on the defensive side of the ball.

But even a team with as much rebuild and change as the Aggies, there is bound to have some returning talent. One of those players is Terrell Vaughn, who finished the 2022 season with 56 receptions for 624 yards and is back as a crucial weapon for quarterback Cooper Legas and the offense.

"Honestly, for me, it's just details," the senior receiver said. "Just details, details, details."

The offense, who also received a new coordinator and will feature head coach Blake Anderson as the primary play-caller, will be more complex this season, according to Vaughn, hence the need to focus on details.

Vaughn said that despite the preseason doubt lingering over the team's fate in 2023, he didn't seem worried.

"We've got a lot of weapons this year, so it's going to be easy," he said.

The Aggies are nearing the end of their first of four weeks of fall camp, leading up to their season opener in Iowa City, where they will take on the Hawkeyes.

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