LOGAN, Utah – Defending Mountain West and LA Bowl Champion Utah State officially kicked off fall camp with its first practice of the 2022 season Friday morning on the USU practice fields.
Second-year head coach Blake Anderson, who is in his ninth year as a collegiate head coach, was pleased with his team’s performance on Day 1.
“It was a good, solid day,” said Anderson. “It’s hard to believe we are back out here. It seems like we just finished this thing yesterday. The energy was good, and you always expect it to be on Day 1. We have a lot of new faces, but it looks like they fit where we have them.
“We obviously can’t make contact yet, but guys are lining up in the right spots. The best thing for me Day 1, is to see what they did over the summer. Did the guys pay attention? Did they learn well? They should have known Day 1 install before we even got out here today and meetings should have been obsolete, and for the most part that is what it looked like. Guys were where they were supposed to be and they were running around trying to give us the tempo that we wanted. We threw and caught it okay, and the defense wasn’t busting and misaligned, so that’s a solid Day 1.”
In all, Utah State welcomed over 100 players to the first practice, which included 12 starters (O-7, D-5) as part of 32 letterwinners (O-15, D-13, S-4), to go along with 49 newcomers (O-24, D-23, S-2), including 16 four-year transfers and seven junior college players.
One of those returning starters is graduate senior quarterback Logan Bonner, who is entering his second season in the program after setting five school records a year ago, including 3,628 passing yards and 36 touchdown passes.
“The energy was high and guys came out ready to play,” said Bonner. “Obviously it is Day 1 and things will start piling up after this. I haven’t played football in while, so it was good for me to get out here.
“This time last year we were still trying to figure out some things, but right now we are way ahead of where we were last year, and that just gives us an opportunity to grow even more and install more stuff. I’m really happy where we are at right now.”
As part of the NCAA’s five-day acclimation period, Utah State will again be in shorts and helmets on Saturday, then add shoulder pads on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. The Aggies’ first practice in full pads will be on Thursday, Aug. 4.
All fall camp practices – minus two scrimmages – will be closed to the public. Fans are invited to watch Utah State’s first scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 11 a.m., and its final scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 1 p.m., as part of its annual Family Football Fun Day. Both scrimmages will be held on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.
Utah State will open the 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 27, when it hosts Connecticut at 2 p.m., in a game that will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1. USU then plays at Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 3, and hosts Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 10, before beginning MW play at home against UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 24, in a game that will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network at 5 p.m.
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.