USU football: No joke — Utah State needs a QB

LOGAN — Sitting in the conference room at the new athletic training facility north of Utah State's Romney Stadium was a white board with a preseason depth-chart of the Aggie football team.

Atop the quarterback position is the name of Jase McCormick, the junior who led Northridge High to two state championships.

USU coach Brent Guy, as soon as he can get around to it, will be updating that list. First, though, he has to figure out who to put in the top spot.

"Quarterback is our skinniest position right now," Guy said, noting McCormick decided to end his football playing days and quit the team.

The Aggies, with more than 100 players in camp for the first time since Guy arrived three seasons ago, have only three scholarship quarterbacks available. And among those players there is a whopping one pass attempt in the stat books.

So, Guy admitted Tuesday during the team's annual media day as camp opened, the competition for the starting job is wide open.

Senior Sean Setzer — who happened to throw that sole pass, a 2-yard completion against Boise State — is joined by former wide receiver Diondre Borel and true freshman Exavier Johnson in a battle to decide who will line up behind center against UNLV in the season opener on Aug. 30.

Three days into camp, Guy is still not sure who will start, though he admits Setzer has the upper hand based solely on his being in the system for a year now and being more mature. Johnson, though, has impressed the Aggie coaches with his athleticism and potential.

"Exavier has made a lot of progress and has a lot of talent," Guy said. "We're certainly pleased with the talent we have at quarterback."

But having only three players to choose from leaves USU with precious little wiggle room. In fact, one of Guy's biggest concerns is getting another quarterback in camp to run the scout team. Redshirt freshman Ben Longshore chose to serve an LDS mission and did not report this year. Robert Fuller, another freshman quarterback, has yet to get the green light from the NCAA clearinghouse and is waiting to join the team.

All three QBs currently in camp want the job when the Aggies face the Rebels.

"I don't allow myself to think too much about competition," Setzer, a senior from Oregon by way of Garden City Junior College, said. "I prepare like I'm a starter every day."