Utah State football: Michael Smith takes the lead on replacing Robert Turbin

LOGAN — You might forgive Michael Smith for expecting to be given something Monday morning when Utah State opened its fall football camp. After all, it was his birthday.

But the last thing he expected was to be handed the starting running back job — even with all-WAC speedster Robert Turbin sidelined while recovering from an offseason ACL injury.

Yet, Smith — perhaps by default, but certainly not because he isn't worthy — may very well be the starter when Utah State opens the season in four weeks at Oklahoma.

"I don't take nothing for granted," Smith said after Monday's practice. "I'm just proud that coach has let me have this opportunity to play for the Aggies and just to be on the field."

Turbin is a player that would require no introduction for Aggie fans. His speed and power made him one of the most exciting players in a USU uniform in years.

But Smith is hardly a scrub. After receiving all sorts of attention from Pac-10 schools during his high school playing days at Tucson, Arizona's Sunnyside High School, where he rushed for 1,920 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior, Smith ended up at Eastern Arizona Junior College.

There, he earned all-Western States Football League honors after rushing for 1,002 yards and 11 touchdowns as part of dual-threat running game.

When he got to USU, though, he found himself playing behind the already-established Turbin.

Now, Smith, a senior who turned 22 on Monday, will be asked to carry a much bigger load.

"The adjustment we make is that Derrvin (Speight) and Michael need to make plays," Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. "We did go get Joey (DeMartino) to come out and be another back for us. So we have four backs that we feel will be pretty good backs for us. We'll see when they get pads on."

Just looking at some of last year's game film, though, gives Andersen an opportunity to relax a little bit.

Smith didn't get a ton of carries as a junior, but when he did he showed some explosive speed. Against Southern Utah, Smith showed the potential his coaches knew he had — eight carries for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 40-yard sprint. In that game, Smith also had a 54-yard reception for a touchdown, which prompted Andersen and Turbin to acknowledge Smith was the fastest player on the team.

"There's fast," Andersen said at the time, referring to Turbin, "and there's faster."