“I’m really happy with the group, honestly,” said the sophomore game passing coordinator and the wide receivers coach Kyle Cefaloc. “We’re creating depth and I love the leadership that’s starting to emerge. Our first group is really showing up every day, like Justin McGriff, Brian Cobbs, Kyle Van Leeuwen. They work very hard every day, and they show up and play plays. We have a lot of talent in the room now, which is great, and consistency is the main thing we strive for.”
Despite losing last season’s top three wide receivers, Utah State is optimistic the group can produce at a high level this year. And if fall practice has been any indication, USU will once again be dynamic and explosive with its receivers in the passing game.
Utah State returns here one starter at McGriff, who caught 35 passes for 414 yards and six touchdowns last season. For his career, McGriff has started all 20 games he has played at USU, racking up 50 passes for 599 yards and eight touchdowns.
“The Genesis and Maturity of Justin McGriff has been pretty obvious, not just to the coaching staff, but really to everyone who’s been with this program,” Cefalo added. “He’s really taking on a leadership role. He wants to be that man, and he is fully capable of being that man that we lean on and depend on. He’s piling up a great winter, a great spring, a great summer, and now a great fall camp. Next thing for him is to continue that progress and get it flying into the fall this Saturday. I couldn’t be happier with the way he works.”
Utah State returnees another letter winner here in junior Kyle Van Leeuwenwho has played in 15 career games.
In addition to the two players mentioned above, the state of Utah welcomes six more players, including five red shirts in sophomore year Quinton Hadnotand freshmen NyNy Davis, Ryder MacGillivray, Otto Tia and Timm Van Leeuwentogether with sophomore squadman Garrett Walchlic.
Along with the eight players mentioned above, Utah state’s optimism is centered around three newcomers to this group in graduate senior transfer Brian Cobbs (Alexandria, Virginia/Hayfield HS/Maryland), transfer juniors Xavier Williams (Hollywood, Florida/Chaminade-Madonna Prep/Alabama) and transfer to elementary school Terrell Vaughn (Oxnard, California/Westlake HS/Ventura JC).
Cobbs is the most established of the newcomers after four years in Maryland (2018-21), when he caught 59 passes for 858 yards (14.5 years) and two touchdowns in 41 games with 12 starts.
Vaughn earned California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) All-American honors and was a two-time Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Northern Conference first-team squad at Ventura (California) Junior College when he set a school record with 149 receptions for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns, along with 10 100-yard receiving games.
And Williams spent four seasons in Alabama (2018-21) playing in 12 games.
Utah State also welcomes six newcomers to sophomore transfers here Kyrese Rowan (Ogden, Utah/Roy HS/Utah) and Jalen Royals (Powder Springs, Georgia/Hillgrove HS/Georgia Military College), along with four freshmen Josh Davis (Carlsbad, California/Carlsbad HS), Malachi Kiels (Escondido, California/Orange Glen HS), Austin Okerwa (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS) and Quentin Riley (Meridian, Idaho/Meridian HS).
“For this attack to be really good again, the wideouts have to perform at a very high level. We took on that role and that challenge last year and it was phenomenal. I love the new squad we have and the expectations are still through the roof Instead of just setting goals and expectations I just want them to come out every day and focus on the day ahead Be it practice, a meeting, a walk through, just being locked in. We can stack if you overlap those good days, good things will happen,” said Cefalo.
Utah State opens the 2022 season on Saturday, August 27, when Connecticut is held at 2 p.m., in a game broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 1. USU then plays in Alabama on Saturday, September 3, and hosts Weber State on Saturday, September 10, before MW will begin playing at home against UNLV on Saturday, September 24, in a match airing on CBS Sports Network at 5 p.m.
For information on Aggie football tickets, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket office by telephone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during normal business hours. Fans can also purchase their tickets in person at the USU Ticket office within the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie football schedule at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletics program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
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