USU football: Aggies turn to former wide receiver for leadership

LOGAN — As maturation processes go, Diondre Borel is facing a fast one.

A year ago, he was a skinny freshman playing wide receiver for Utah State — and not playing much at that. Now, just a year later, he's a sophomore — although still a skinny one — and his coach has handed over the keys to the offense to him.

That's a pretty stiff order considering USU's Brent Guy is a coach without the luxury of job security. Asking a young, shy and inexperienced quarterback to take over the leadership of the team when a senior is in camp and ready to play is a little risky.

But it might also be a move Guy had little choice to make.

"We are going to put Diondre out there and see if he can get us started," Guy said before Borel's first start. "He is right now our best runner, so hopefully that will help the running game as a whole."

Sean Setzer won the starting position coming out of fall camp but had a hard time moving the ball downfield in three games against challenging opposition.

Borel came off the bench in Utah State's first three games. At UNLV, he took over midway through the third quarter and finished the game. At Oregon, he was called upon even earlier.

Against Utah, Setzer was again the starter, but Guy alternated frequently as he tried to find the quarterback who could best spark the team.

And though the results were often mixed with disaster, Borel was clearly the player who brought the most energy and life to the team.

He also grabbed the leadership role by the horns, so to speak, during a pre-game meeting on Friday.

"Diondre stood up and said the coaches give us all the things that we're supposed to do and it's up to us players to just do it," freshman running back Robert Turbin said. "They can't go out on the field and do it for us."

Shy, soft-spoken and often not sure what to say when asked a question in a press conference, Borel said he was anxious before his first start in last week's 42-17 win over Idaho.

"I was a little bit nervous (before the) first start," Borel said. "It's different when you start than when you come off the bench. But I was excited."

His weaknesses — unpredictability and an eagerness to tuck the ball and run — at times become his strength. Because of that lack of experience, Guy said, Borel often made a quick decision to run with the ball rather than let his pass plays develop.