Utah State football: 5 questions with with Aggie football coach Matt Wells

Q: The decision to return to Logan (as an assistant coach), what went into that? Was it a tough decision?

A: It was a tough one because of the opportunity I had to stay at New Mexico from a title standpoint and a financial standpoint was, on paper, better than Utah State. So it took a little bit of a leap of faith.

Q: Was it Gary Andersen's plan or his energy that lured you to Logan?

A: It was a combination of both. ... I think the blueprint, the recruiting plan and the plan to win inside the building will stay the same. We'll put our tweaks to it and will put the icing on the cake, if you will, but the nuts and bolts of the program are going to stay the same. Who I am is not going to change, how I coach is not going to change and the energy I've had for two years is not going to change.

Q: When you say the nuts and bolts will remain the same, what does that mean?

A: The offensive and defensive philosophies, our systems. The recruiting system, the academic system, what our kids do on a daily basis, how we train in the off-season.

Q: Are there things you've been yearning to do but couldn't because you weren't the head coach, or will you have to wait and see?

A: Probably have to wait and see. I've had some thoughts and ideas, and some fit Utah State and some of them don't. Some of them have already been implemented, so we're going to continue to do those, especially on offense.

Q: Do you think you were a good fit with Gary Andersen, and that you just fit what he was already doing?

A: I do. I think we coach very similar. Our philosophy on how you treat kids and how you build a program already fit well. It was neat for me for two years in those staff meetings to see the recruiting plan and how he continued to mold it with the rest of the staff for it to fit Logan, Cache Valley, in the unique circumstances that we have here at Utah State.