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Logan • Utah State's Matt Wells sounds as much like a lobbying politician as he does a football coach these days. Must be time for the postseason awards.
Following the Aggies' 41-7 win over San Jose State on Friday, Wells said Zach Vigil deserved to be the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, believing it wasn't even a close battle.
He held his stance Monday during his news conference.
"That isn't a knock on the other linebackers in the league," he said. "But what this kid has done since the beginning of the season …"
Wells finished the thought with a shake of his head, believing the numbers make as good a case for Vigil as any lobbying effort.
Vigil leads the conference and is ninth nationally in tackles for loss (1.54 pg), is second in the league and eighth nationally in tackles (11.1 pg) and is tied for third in the league and 37th nationally in sacks (0.67 pg).
Vigil has 41.5 tackles for loss and needs just 1.5 to tie the school's career record set by Jermaine Younger (1990-93).
He had one of his best games against the Spartans, finishing with 19 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. It was the seventh time he has had double-digit tackles this season and 18th of his career.
A second-team all-MWC player last year, Vigil has improved this season in the way he has been able to shed would-be blockers to make plays.
"We're seeing a different cat," Wells said. "He's like a possessed man getting to the football."
Saturday's game against Boise State will be a prime chance for Vigil to show off his talents, since the Broncos boast running back Jay Ajayi, who is second in the league averaging 126.4 yards a game.
"He could be the offensive player," Wells said of Ajayi. "The best tailback and the best linebacker in the league are going to collide Saturday night."
Good times
Wells and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin have formed a strong coaching friendship since the two followed similar coaching paths, with Wells at Tulsa (2002-06) and Harsin at BSU (2002-05).
"We were both just two young tight end coaches," Wells said. "We had some close battles, but we are similar in a lot of ways and we became good friends. We both became head coaches two years ago, days apart. He is living his dreams out at his alma mater, there are a lot of similar characteristics."
Injury report
Offensive lineman Kevin Whimpey is day-to-day for the Boise State game due to an injury that sidelined him for the second half of the San Jose State game. Wells said the Aggies held him out of that rest of that blowout for precautionary reasons.
His backup is sophomore Austin Albrecht, but Wells said the offensive line's improvement has led to a lot of different options, too.
"If he can't play there will have to be some shuffling going on, but the good thing is we have a lot of versatility," Wells said.
Of note
Linebacker Torrey Green hasn't played since injuring an ankle at Wyoming on Nov. 7. … USU trails the Broncos 14-4 in the all-time series and is just 2-7 in Boise. … The Aggies are averaging 256.5 yards rushing in their last four games. The last time USU rushed for 200 or more yards in four straight games was in the 2011 season, when it did so in six straight games.
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
Utah State at Boise State
O Saturday, 8:15 p.m.
TV • ESPN2