Font ResizeWhen Utah State head coach Gary Andersen was still the defensive coordinator at Utah, he hated matching wits with a certain offensive coordinator from New Mexico by the name of Dave Baldwin.
And he loved it at the same time.
Baldwin's spread offense was always tough to scheme for. He employed different formations. He always gave Andersen different looks. He turned Donovan Porterie from a raw athletic specimen into one of the top quarterbacks in the Mountain West Conference. It's a natural conclusion, when taking these factors into account, that Baldwin was one of the first coaches Andersen looked to bring on when he took the Aggies head coaching job late in the 2008 season.
"Alot of guys can scheme during the week, and gameplan during the week," Andersen said. "But Dave always brought that stuff out onto the field. They were tough to prepare for, and that's a big reason why I wanted him with me."
Utah State's first fall practice is a little more than a month away and its Thursday night opener at Utah is more than two months off, but Baldwin's impact has already been felt.
If one thing is certain, the Aggies will look drastically different on offense than they did under the Brent Guy era. Utah State will still run the ball, but they will pass to set up the run. The spread offense will have a West Coast feel to it, and that should serve for plenty of room for quarterback Diondre Borel and Robert Turbin to expand on the playmaking
"I have high expectations for this team," Baldwin said. "I fully expect that we will be able to score a bunch of points. When I looked at this team from last year, I really thought the cupboard wasn't bare. They should've won some of the games they lost last year. I was pleasantly surprised with the caliber of running backs and the speed of the wideouts. There were questions about the wideouts last year, but we have them in this system."
And Andersen is confident that Baldwin is the guy to maximize the talent that he's been afforded. In Baldwin, the Aggies are getting one of the most veteran coaches in the college football ranks, a guy who turned Cal State Northridge into a legitimate program, a guy who turned Michigan State's offense into one of the most prolific in college football.
Along the way, Baldwin tutored Drew Stanton and turned the former Michigan State star into one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He coached at San Jose State, Baylor and Cincinnati, among other places.
His success with signal callers is something that Borel thinks about on a regular basis. And already, the rising junior has made strides with his decision making and his ability to throw the football during spring practice.
"He's a great coach," Borel said. "He wants the best out of you and he's going to demand the best. I've gotten more patient and coach Baldwin's gotten the best out of me so far."
The progress was seen in the spring game as Borel went 12-23 in the air with 320 yards and three touchdowns. It's something, as summer turns into fall, that Baldwin expects when his offense hits the field. And if that happens, Utah State's chances of winning more than three games rise exponentially.
"We put together an installation plan for the spring game," Baldwin said. "And I was pleased that we were able to get through the plan. Part of it is the defense allowed us to do it. They stayed true to the plan and allowed us to implement it."
» Former offensive coordinator at New Mexico
» Was the offensive coordinator at Michigan State under John L. Smith
» A former head coach at San Jose State and Cal State Northridge
