When looking at Gary Andersen and Utah State's recruiting class, the word that can best describe the Aggies' haul is progress.
After lacking depth last season at multiple spots, Andersen, now heading into his second season at the helm, tackled that problem, came out with a mix of high school and junior college recruits and now has a roster he feels is equipped to handle an injury or two.
In all, Andersen signed seven players who were given a three-star distinction from either rivals.com or scout.com. By that alone, this qualifies as the best class Utah State's produced in recent years.
"I think the best thing we've done with this class is create depth at almost every position," Andersen said. "That was very important. We wanted to create depth, and we did that at every spot except for tight end and defensive end."
Perhaps more importantly, the Aggies recruited the state of Utah well and competed with the heavy hitters for some of the best local players.
USU was able to sign some of the brightest stars from the high school ranks. Jordan quarterback Alex Hart, Timpview quarterback Trevor Brown, Pleasant Grove offensive lineman Bryce Walker, and Alta linebacker Parker Hausknecht all pledged to Andersen's program.
Andersen signed Jeremy Higgins -- the brother of Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins -- who, along with Hart and Kane Wilson, will be allowed to step in right away and compete for the backup quarterback spot behind Diondre Borel.
Andersen and his staff wanted to establish a pipeline to the Polynesian community, and he did that with Hawaii players Elvis Matagi and Brian Suite. He also came up with a Florida pipeline with the signings of Nevin Lawson and Tavaris McMillian.
"I thought [defensive backs coach] Cory Raymond did an excellent job with Florida," Andersen said. "He has a lot of contacts down there from his LSU days and he did a great job in using them."
Utah State's 2010 signees
| Player | Position | Hometown | High school/Junior college | Ht./Wt. | Comments |
| Brooks Abel | Offensive tackle | Weed, Calif. | College of the Siskiyous | 6-6/305 | Is also expected to compete for a starting spot. |
| Keegan Andersen | Receiver | Draper | Juan Diego H.S. | 6-2/191 | Class 3A player of the year. |
| Alfred Bowden | Cornerback | Phoenix Ariz. | Phoenix J.C. | 6-2/200 | Is expected to compete right away for playing time. |
| Trevor Brown | Quarterback | Provo | Timpview H.S. | 6-5/200 | Will sign and go on a mission before enrolling. |
| Nick Diaz | Kicker | Redondo Beach, Calif. | Redondo Union H.S. | 5-9/180 | Expected to shore up the kicking game. |
| Jason Fanaika | Tight end | Pleasant Grove | Pleasant Grove H.S. | 6-4/240 | Another tight end to add to Andersen's offense. |
| Taani Fisilau | Offensive guard | Salt Lake City | Cottonwood H.S. | 6-2/280 | Jumped when Andersen swooped in and offered. |
| Chris Fox | Linebacker | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Chaparral H.S. | 6-3/216 | Beat out conference rival Nevada for Fox's services. |
| Alex Hart | Quarterback | Sandy | Jordan H.S. | 6-3/185 | Had a dream season throwing the ball. |
| Parker Hausknecht | Linebacker | Sandy | Alta H.S. | 6-0/210 | Linebacker was hurt for a good portion of the season. |
| Jeremy Higgins | Quarterback | Honolulu | St. Louis H.S. | 6-1/180 | Brother of Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins. |
| Joseph Hill | Running back | Fullerton, Calif. | Fullerton H.S. | 6-2/185 | Coaches love Hill's burst. |
| Shaan Johnson | Receiver | Cerritos, Calif. | Ghar Richard H.S. | 6-2/170 | Coaching staff excited about this late find. |
| Gavin Jones | Safety | Ephraim | Snow J.C. | 6-3/185 | Was a stalwart at Snow this past season. |
| Jeremy LaPan | Offensive tackle | Santa Ana, Calif. | Santa Ana J.C. | 6-6/300 | Is expected to start at one of the tackles. |
| Nevin Lawson | Cornerback | Sunrise, Fla. | Piper H.S. | 6-0/180 | Speed kills, and this guy has plenty of it. |
| Xavier Martin | Receiver | El Cajon, Calif. | Grossmont J.C. | 5-11/205 | Is considered a great route runner. |
| Elvis Matagi | Defensive tackle | Pikalani, Hawaii | Kekaulike H.S. | 6-1/255 | Hawaii offered late, to no avail. |
| Jordunn Mattinson | Tight end | Spanish Fork | Spanish Fork H.S. | 6-5/230 | One of the best pass catching tight ends in the state. |
| Tavaris McMillian | Linebacker | Miami | Miami Jackson | 6-2/210 | Late commit when staff parted ways with V.J. Fehoko. |
| Nate Needham | Linebacker | St. George | Pine View H.S. | 6-2/220 | Just came off his mission. Adds depth to linebacking core. |
| Rashad Stewart | Cornerback | Miami | Miami Jackson H.S. | 5-10/180 | Has that Florida speed that Andersen loves. |
| Brian Suite | Safety | Honolulu | Punahou School | 6-2/183 | Big guy who can run, run, run. |
| Brandon Taukeiaho | Offensive guard | South Jordan | Bingham H.S., | 6-3/310 | Him and Tuni Kanuch amongst best linemen in the state. |
| Bryce Walker | Offensive guard | Pleasant Grove | Pleasant Grove H.S. | 6-9/290 | Mammoth offensive lineman committed to Andersen early. |
| Dontel Watkins | Receiver | El Dorado, Kan. | Butler County J.C., | 6-3/205 | Has the size for the position that Andersen loves. |
