USU football preview notes

Schedule

Aug. 30 ... at UNLV, 8 p.m.
Sept. 6 ... at Oregon, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 13 ... vs. Utah, 6 p.m.
Sept. 20 ... vs. Idaho, 2 p.m.
Oct. 3 ... vs. BYU, 6 p.m.
Oct. 11 ... at San Jose State, 6 p.m.
Oct. 18 ... at Nevada, 2 p.m.
Oct. 25 ... vs. Fresno State, 1 p.m.
Nov. 1 ... vs. Hawaii, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 ... at Boise State, noon
Nov. 15, ... at La. Tech, 12:30 p.m.
Nov. 29 ... vs. N. Mexico St., 1 p.m.

2007 record

2-10 overall, 2-6 WAC

Predicted finish

Ninth in both WAC coaches and media polls

Returning starters

Offense: 6
Derek Hoke, 6-9, 315 Sr., OL
Spencer Johnson, 6-5, 292, So., OL
Ryan Tonnemacher, 6-3, 292, Sr., C
Rob Meyers, 6-4, 240, Sr., TE
Otis Nelson, 6-4, 214, Sr., WR
Derrvin Speight, 5-9, 207, So., RB

Defense: 9
Ben Calderwood, 6-2, 267, Sr., DE
Alan Bishop, 6-5, 285, Jr., DT
De'Von Hall, 6-3, 215, Sr., S/LB
Jake Hutton, 6-0, 236, Sr., LB
Paul Igboeli, 6-0, 211, Jr., LB
James Brindley, 5-10, 195, Jr., S
Marquise Charles, 5-8, 175, Sr., CB
Caleb Taylor, 6-3, 193, Sr., S
Joshua Taylor, 6-0, 176, Sr., CB

Special Teams: 2
Peter Caldwell, 6-4, 200, So., PK
Chris Ulinski, 6-2, 206, So., K

Starters lost

Offense: 5
Leon Jackson III, QB
Pace Jorgensen, OL
Shawn Murphy, OL
Jimmy Bohm, TE/FB
Kevin Robinson, WR

Defense: 2
Frank Maile, DL
Carl Singleton, DL

Names to know

Tailbacks Derrvin Speight and Curtis Marsh were thrown to the wolves as freshmen a year ago. They struggled at times but did well at others. This year, they'll be pushed for playing time by the likes of senior Derrick Cumbee and true freshman Marquis Butler. Sean Setzer is the only guy on the team to have a passing attempt in a college game — at any level. He'll have to captain the ship.

Key dates

Aug. 30 is the season opener. A win at UNLV means there is hope. A loss could spell disaster to the Aggies and to coach Brent Guy. Home games against Utah (Sept. 13) and BYU (Oct. 3) give fans in Logan a reason to buy tickets.

Reasons to be excited

There is actually depth. After struggling to fill the two-deep with scholarship players for a couple of years, Guy now has the luxury of creating a three-deep.

Reasons to be worried

It's Utah State football. What more reason do you need to be worried?