Logan » At this point of the season, special teams is by far the biggest trouble spot for the Utah State football team.
It's what killed the Aggies in their loss on Saturday to New Mexico State, and it killed USU in myriad ways.
There was the Josh Flores fumble that set up a touchdown on a punt return. Utah State allowed two huge punt returns that set up scores, and the Aggies missed a field goal that could've made a difference.
This has prompted Gary Andersen to come up with the drastic move of playing a number of his defensive starters on special teams. Safety James Brindley , cornerback Kejon Murphy , linebacker Bobby Wagner , and defensive back Rajric Coleman are all expected to see 10-15 extra snaps than they normally would on Saturday when the Aggies face Nevada.
"This is not a positive," Andersen said. "But we have to play some older kids to make sure we're covering kicks and punts. We have to give ourselves a chance. We're not executing so we have to make changes."
The upside to this is better coverage on punt returns. The downside is potential fatigue that may set in as the game wears on. Of the aforementioned names, only Murphy has seen extended time on special teams this season. The senior has returned punts in a platoon with Flores.
Of the special teams units, the only area that Andersen is satisfied with is the kickoff coverage. He said on Tuesday that the punt coverage team will look completely different on Saturday.
"I spoke to all of the kids individually and they all said that they want to do this," Andersen said. "They want to help the team win and they will have enough gas left in the tank to be effective defensively."
Austin redshirting
The coaching staff has decided to officially redshirt Matt Austin .
A junior receiver who was one of the best wideouts in the junior college ranks last season, Austin had missed the entire year due to foot problems. He was expected to be ready for Western Athletic Conference play and was seen as an immediate impact player at the spot. His ability to stretch the field, coupled with his size, has been something the Aggies have missed this season.
He is expected to play next season and have a full two years of eligibility remaining.
"We made the decision as a coaching staff and we let him have some input on it," Andersen said. "He's still not at full strength and he's still not in football shape. The best thing we could do was to let him have a full offseason. We believe that he's going to be very productive at the Division I level."
