BYU, USU football: Andersen has history with, respect of Cougars

PROVO — When BYU linebacker Coleby Clawson was playing at North Sanpete High School and living in the small town of Wales in central Utah, only one college coached showed enough interest in him to offer him a scholarship.

That coach? Gary Andersen.

At the time, Andersen was the head coach at Southern Utah, where he spent just one season between stints at Utah.

Now, Andersen is the head coach at Utah State, which invades LaVell Edwards Stadium Friday (7 p.m., The mtn.).

"Coach Andersen was recruiting a couple of my friends on the (high school) team, and he saw me make some plays on tape," Clawson remembered. "So he called me and invited me on a recruiting trip. That's the only trip I took."

After finishing high school, Clawson left for an LDS mission and by the time he returned, Andersen had returned to Utah, where he coached from 1997-2002 and from 2004-2008.

"I probably would have come back and played for him (at SUU)," Clawson said. "But he was gone, so I went and walked on at Snow (Junior College). Then I had the opportunity here at BYU. I really respect coach Andersen. I think he's a great coach and a great person. He actually called me a couple of years ago and congratulated me on the scholarship offer to BYU. He's a really classy guy."

Of course, because of Andersen's ties to Utah, he is very familiar with BYU, and the Cougars are familiar with him. During his 11 seasons with the Utes, Utah posted a 6-5 record against BYU.

"Coach Andersen is a great coach. I have a lot of respect for coach Andersen," said BYU defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen. "I think he's done a great job up there."

Jorgensen said that under Andersen, the Aggies "look like a completely different team, a much better team. ... It's one thing coach Andersen will be able to instill in his team and already has — the confidence. You saw the way they played against Utah. That's the best Utah State has played against Utah in a long time. He's put that confidence and fire in them."

Utah State opened the season with a 35-17 loss at Utah, followed by a 38-30 defeat at Texas A&M. Last Saturday, USU earned its first victory of the season with a 53-34 triumph over Southern Utah.

Cougar tight end Andrew George said Andersen's background will help the Aggies prepare for this weekend's game.