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Logan • Utah State running back Devante Mays returned from a knee injury and played briefly in a backup role Saturday night against Fresno State at Maverik Stadium.
Mays, who rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns in a season-opening 45-6 win over Weber State, was hurt the following week at USC.
A senior from Livingston, Texas, Mays came back for one play against Air Force on Sept. 24 before limping off the field again. He missed losses at Boise State (21-10) and Colorado State (31-24).
Utah State did not play last week.
"A bye week helps everybody," Wells said at his Monday press conference. "I'm not a doctor, but everybody is more healthy."
Asked specifically about Mays, Wells said, "Obviously, he's one of our better players. He was certainly our best running back or he wouldn't have come out of spring ball and training camp as our starter. We'll see if we get him back this week."
Mays did not start against Fresno before playing one series in the second quarter.
Wells: No changes vs. freshman QB
Utah State's defense has played well against first-year quarterbacks in recent seasons. The Aggies had another chance against Fresno and its redshirt freshman, Chason Virgil.
"We're going to do what we do," Wells said. "… We're going to pressure, we're going to man pressure, we're going to zone pressure, we're going to do what we do."
Downplaying the idea the Aggies could rattle Virgil, Wells added, "[He] has played enough to where I don't think of him as a freshman anymore. Maybe in terms of what comes after his name in a media guide, but he's played enough games, he's had half a season behind him.
"I say that because I go back and I think of the freshmen quarterbacks that I've started here at Utah State and it's been three. When those players get four or five or six games under their belt, that's different than game one or game two as a freshman."
Next for Utah State: Once-beaten Aztecs
When the Aggies' 2016 schedule was announced, the marque home game was easy to spot. Now, it's almost here
Reigning Mountain West champion San Diego State visits Friday night. The Aztecs are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference after an overpowering 42-3 victory over San Jose State.
The 39-point margin was San Diego State's largest since 2010. It was their most lopsided conference victory since 1996. The Aztecs became bowl-eligible for the seventh straight season.
"I've been places where you were begging to be bowl-eligible," coach Rocky Long said. "I've been places where it came to the very last game. If you won it, you got to go to a bowl game. If you didn't, you didn't.
"Just because we happen to be bowl-eligible now, and it's early, everybody's not going to think that's a big deal. That's a big deal to me and that's a big deal to our team."
San Diego State star running back D.J. Pumphrey carried 24 times for 135 yards and his 57th career touchdown. But he credited the defense for allowing the Aztecs to cruise past the Spartans.
"They're very aggressive," Pumphrey said. "Just seeing them in practice is unbelievable … [and] it shows in the game. Their quarterback was having a hard time being able to see guys get open and taking sacks all game."
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