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Logan • When Utah State visits USC on Saturday, the Aggies will see two familiar faces.

Linebacker Porter Gustin of Salem Hills High School and Stevie Tu'ikolovatu, a nose guard who transferred from the University of Utah, are expected to start for the Trojans.

In last week's 52-6 loss at Alabama, Gustin tied for the team-high in tackles with nine, including one sack. Tu'ikolovatu finished with two tackles.

Gustin (6-5, 260) was an early Utah State recruit. He met with coach Matt Wells in the Aggie football offices when he was a junior at Salem Hills — before becoming a national recruit.

"We were his first official offer," Wells said. "… He is a tremendous young man and comes from a great family. It is neat to watch him because he's a Utah kid and we recruited him.

"He plays unbelievably hard and gives a fanatical effort. He turns and chases the ball down the line, he knows angles, he can rush the passer and he's long."

Wells compared Gustin to former Aggie Kyler Fackrell, who was a third-round pick in last summer's NFL draft.

"… You better be aware of him," Wells said.

Tu'ikolovatu played high school football at East. He graduated from Utah last year. As a result, he was able to transfer to USC without sitting out a season.

"We know all about him," Wells said. "I have a lot of respect for that young man."

Utah State center Austin Stephens battled Tu'ikolovatu during Utah's 24-14 win over Utah State last season.

"He rotated with that [defensive] front down there in Salt Lake City," Stephens said. "They were one of the better Pac-12 fronts that you saw last year. He's very talented. He's a load. You look at him, he's 6-1 and 320. That's a big boy. He's stout. He does a lot of good things. We'll just see what we can do."

A third Utah high school player, linebacker Osa Masina of Brighton, won't play against the Aggies. He has been suspended for the second straight game while under investigation for a sexual assault charge.

Leavitt to be a major defensive factor at safety

Dallin Leavitt started his college career at BYU before transferring to Utah State.

Leavitt is the Aggies' starting boundary safety. He had six tackles and an interception in last week's 45-6 win over Weber State and proved, as expected, he will be a major contributor this season.

Leavitt attended Central Catholic High School in Portland before being recruited to BYU by former coach Bronco Mendenhall.

"BYU, we just didn't see eye-to-eye, I guess is the best way to put it," he said. "It was just a tough culture for me. Living in Provo, for me, it's a different place. It's a special place and you have to be a special person to live there and I just didn't fit that mold. … I just felt like it was better for me if I left."

Leavitt ended up at Utah State, in part, because he knew Aggie tight end Wyatt Houston. He's also from the Portland area.

"During my frustrations at BYU, Utah State was just up the road and they were doing so well," Leavitt said. "… It ended up being an awesome opportunity for me."

He is grateful for being allowed to transfer to an in-state rival.

"Mendenhall was good to me and my family," Leavitt said.

Special teams need to be special

Wells knows Utah State must play effciently on special teams if it hopes to upset USC.

With that in mind, he voiced concern over how the Aggies covered kickoffs in the opener against Weber State, considering the Trojans' Adoree' Jackson is one of the top return men in the country.

"He is special," Wells said, "and we better figure it out quickly or it will look like a pinball game."

Jackson, a junior, averaged 28 yards on four kickoff returns in the loss to Alabama. In his career, he's returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Said Wells: "We are nit-picky and the way we covered kicks against Weber State was not a typical Utah State kickoff coverage team. We're going to get that corrected quickly by coaching it better — more detailed — and by changing some personnel. I brought some old archived tapes out [this week] and showed them how we cover kicks at Utah State, so hopefully they got the picture."

Twitter: @sluhm —

Utah State at USC

Saturday, noon

TV • Pac-12 Network