Utah State Football Begins Spring Practice Monday, March 16

Under the direction of third-year head coach Matt Wells, Utah State [University] football will begin spring practice Monday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m.

During the four-week period, the Aggies will participate in 15 spring practice sessions, including its annual Blue vs. White Spring Game Saturday, April 11, on Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium at 2 p.m. USU will then hold its final practice of the spring Monday, April 13, from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m.

Utah State returns 17 starters (O-10, D-7) as part of 42 letterwinners (O-15, D-25, S-2) from last year’s 10-4 team that finished third in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference with a 6-2 record and defeated UTEP, 21-6, in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. Overall, the 10 wins for USU are its second-most in school history trailing the 2012 team that finished with an 11-2 record.

At season’s end USU received 11 top 25 votes in the final Associated Press poll and eight votes in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll to rank 32nd and 34th, respectively.

Over the last three years, Utah State is one of just four Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools to win at least 30 games and three bowl games joining Clemson, Michigan State and Oregon. Furthermore, USU has played in four-straight bowl games, winning each of its last three, both of which are school records.

Highlighting Utah State’s returners in 2015 is senior wide receiver/punt returner JoJo Natson and junior linebacker Nick Vigil as both players earned first-team all-Mountain West honors a year ago. Joining Natson and Vigil as returning all-conference players from 2014 are senior DE Jordan Nielsen (honorable mention), senior wide receiver Hunter Sharp (honorable mention), junior safety Devin Centers (honorable mention), junior OT Jake Simonich (honorable mention) and junior OC Austin Stephens (honorable mention), while sophomore CB Jalen Davis was named a true freshman All-American by 247Sports.

Utah State also returns two other all-conference players in redshirt senior QB Chuckie Keeton and senior LB Kyler Fackrell. Keeton earned first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as a sophomore in 2012 and was a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury in his sixth game. Keeton then received a medical hardship from both the NCAA and Mountain West as he played in just three games in 2014 before reinjuring his knee. Fackrell earned second-team all-Mountain West honors as a sophomore in 2013, along with being named a sophomore honorable mention All-American by College Football News, and earned first-team all-WAC honors as a redshirt freshman along with being named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America in 2012. Fackrell played in just two quarters during the 2014 season as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener at Tennessee.

Along with the players mentioned above, Utah State also returns six other starters on offense (OG - Taani Fisilau; QB - Darell Garretson; TE - Wyatt Houston; OT - Tyshon Mosley; QB - Kent Myers; WR - Devonte Robinson) and three other starters on defense (LB - LT Filiaga; CB - Daniel Gray; LB - Torrey Green), to go along with two specialists returning (LS - Salanoa Galea'i; K - Jake Thompson).

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2015 Utah State Football Spring Practice Dates

Mon., March 16 - 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - No Pads
Tues., March 17 - 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - No Pads
Thur., March 19 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.
Sat., March 21 - 8:50 - 10:50 a.m.

Tues., March 24 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.
Thur., March 26 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.
Fri., March 27 - 3:20 - 5:20 p.m. - Scrimmage

Tues., March 31 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.
Thur., April 2 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.
Fri., April 3 - 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Scrimmage

Mon., April 6 - 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Tues., April 7 - 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Thur., April 9 - 6:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Saturday, April 11 - 2:00 p.m. - Blue vs. White Spring Game

Mon., April 13 - 3:45 - 5:45 p.m.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.