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Show Friday, September 28, 2007 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Game Guide 2 Ute strong saftey : defies mom's wish Jason Peterson STAFF WRITER Quarterback T . Having Brian Johnson back as the starting quarterback will be a huge jump-start to the entire U offense, especially if he can find a way to get a little more mustard behind*his throws to exploit the dangerous receiving corps to whom he has to throw. With Utah State focusing more on the power running game, Leon Jackson III has averaged 106 yards per game, but when he throws the ball, he completes 68 percent of the 20 throws he averages per game, , & « ^ # ^ . V •. " :;:>;;v ; Edge: Uts^,>:.;>> >, •• ft %^®Wk&& Running Backs .. While Utah State's rushing numbers (117.8 ypg) are higher than Utah's (79.5 ypg), those numbers are deceiving given the fact that the Aggies offense depends much more on the rush than the Utes does. The top-four carriers on the Aggie running game don't even average 100 yards per contest, while the U tailback Darrell Mack is averaging 73.7 yards per game in two starts. With Brian Johnson and the option back for the Utes, Mack should see his own rushing numbers increase even further. /> '•^•'•'••'•'.V-'.Edge: Receivers ' . • < * • ; ',-vx' Kevhi Robinson is the Aggies most exciting player on the field, but even he can't outshine the Utah receiving corps that is still very solid despite losing No. i receiver Brent Casteel to a season-ending knee injury. With Johnson back under center, teams will be less able to load the secondary with defensive backs, which will further enhance what players like Derrek Richards, Brian Hernandez,. Freddie Brown, Bradon Godfrey and Marquis Wilson are able to do downfield. " - • ^ ^ ^ w : : •- ••--— •---' -- •±>$t$m U safety Steve Tate did not play much football as a young tyke. His mother wouldn't allow any of her children to play such a barbaric sport. "Just stick with soccer," she told Tate. In soccer, his mother could patrol the sidelines and make sure none of the other 8-year-olds took cheap shots at her son. By the time he was 12, Tate had convinced his parents to let him play little league'football—as long as he wore pads, of course—which was all right by him. Tate hated to be hit. That's right—last year's second-leading tackier in the MWC had an aversion to touching people. "My whole goal when I was little was to outrun everybody so they wouldn't hit me," said Tate, a senior in economics. "I hated contact." In the first play of his first game, Tate took the ball and gracefully sidestepped his way to the 5-yard line—a 60yard scamper. He didn't get tackled. He simply dropped the ball and began celebrating because he thought he was in the end zone. Needless to say, the other up playing a semester in Loteam picked it up and ran it 95 gan for Utah State and subseyards the other direction for a quently left for Argentina to serve an LDS mission. touchdown. "That was brutal. It took me "It was a great experience, about six years to tell anyone but there were some tough about it," he laughed. "At least times," Tate said of his stay I ran it in the right direction. in Buenos Aires. "That was That was good." when the Iraq war broke out, For Tate, the babying didn't and there were a lot of antistop in high school, either. American people." Skyline put Tate snuggly in "We were locked in our the pocket and surrounded apartment for a few days him with giant offensive line- while they were setting things men. on fire just outside," he said. "I was an option quarter- "We had to take off to a safer back," he explained. Tate house. It was insane." could either toss the ball or Somewhere between his hand it off to a running back. mother's protection and the Or make his mother sick with anti-American threats in a fordread and run the ball him- eign land, Tate arrived home self. in 2004 a changed man. These Luckily for Skyline, he days, Ute opponents never chose the third option often want to hear the words "You.^ on his way to becoming Utah's won't like me when I get anMr. Football in 2000. The 5A gry" fall from Tate's lips. MVP led the state in rushAfter walking on and reding (1,660 yards) and rushing shirting in 2004 during Urban. touchdowns (24). Meyer's dream season, Tate Tate, a lifelong Ute fan, has played in all but one game hoped to graduate from high since—a remarkable feat conschool and follow in his grand- sidering he switched to a pofather's footsteps. Hal Tate sition that asks him to throw. was an All-American running his body at sometimes much back for the Utes in 1947. He bigger players. wore the number 28—Tate's Last season, the 5-foot-n, current number. Steve Tate instead wound See TATE Game Guide 3 On the other sideline Edge Offensive Line Thefiveheavies that make up the U offensive line have been gaining experience and have remained intact for the most part this season. The U line was responsible for at least three holding calls against UNLV that took away first down runs in the Ute loss. Utah State's front-line beef is truly just that The Aggies have one of the biggest and tallest offensive lines.Utah will face all yearj U defense could find a Way to exploit the Aggies rience on the left side of the line... Defensive Line mm Paul Kruger is the athletic defensive end that combines with Martail Burnett (who leads the team in sacks with three) to give Utah a great one-two punch on the edges. Aggie right end Ben Calderwood has 1.5 sacks to his credit this season, but Utah State's three tackles for losses pales in comparison "to the eight that Utah's defensive line starters have tallied tnii season. Burnett leads the Utes in that category with five tackles, totaling 30 yards in the red. 1fev Edge: Kyle Brady has been a beast on defense for the Utes this season and leads the team with 29 tackles. With Joe Jiarinoni out nursing a sore ankle, Stevenson Sylvester will get the chance to start and improve on his 4.5 tackles— that have resulted in 26 lost yards—for the Utes. The Aggies' line-backing unit is the backbone of this defense and the trio of Devon Hall, Jake Hutton and Paul Igboeli owns of the top four tackier spots for Utah State so far. ••;-"vK' for the Aggies, he has seen significant playing time this season and leads the team in interceptions. Caleb Taylor ~£ji%§$?<$£$<$; is the other strong safety and is a presence in the back- * ' - v ' V . f ' . field at 6-foot-3 and 197 lbs. He's also forced two turnovers with an interception and fumble this year. Utah's secondary is slightly inexperienced and will be limited against the pass because of injuries to Robert Johnson and Brice McCain. *> *?Sfe '• • Edge: Even Teams To use the word "electrifying" with kick returner/wl__ receiver Kevin Robinson might be an understatement. Robinson averages fewer than 30 yards per return and has a touchdown on special teams to his credit. He will be fielding a lot of punts from the foot of the Utes' All-, MWC kicking candidate "Sweet" Louie Sakoda. Sakoda is* not only proficient at pinning teams inside their 20-yard line, he is also an extremely accurate place kicker (5 of 6) When given the chance. Edge: Even' Coaching Neither coaching staff has been able to put together an impressive 2007/ Aggie head coach Brent Guy has been able to get his; team to play inspired football this year despite the 0-4 record Kyle Whittingham, on the other hand, has admitted he has no idea why his team has been so erratic lately. Grumblings about the offensive play calling are still echoing from the hill, but the good news for Ute sfans is that things can only get better. Utah State has been in that same predicament for nearlY four years. Ed e: Even 3iP* s »r-1 ^ ^•'- JOSH LEE/rfcf The Utah State Aggies are 0-4 this season, despite leading in the fourth quarter during three of their four games. Aggies' sights set on continuing U's agony Jon Gilbert X.-.S- STAFF WRITER Another fourth-quarter lead evaporated and resulted in a loss for the Utah State Aggies on Sept. 22 against San Jose State. The Spartans spoiled Utah State's homecoming with a 23-20 victory. San Jose State scored a touchdown with less than a minute left. The PAT put the Spartans on top by three points, leaving a window of opportunity for Utah State. After a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration, San Jose State found itself kicking off from the 15-yard line, bolstering Utah State's chances of tying the game or taking the lead. However, the football gods had different plans as the kickoff died in the wind and dropped at midfield where the Spartans covered it up to complete the unconventional and unintentional on-side kick. That single play mirrors the start to Utah State's season. "We're about three plays from being really good," said Utah State head coach Brent Guy. The Aggies are 0-4 the year after having held leads in the fourth quarter against UNLV, Wyoming and San Jose State. Besides being blown out by Oklahoma, Utah State has played competitively while looking for its first win. "We're close and I'm going to keep pushing these kids because I know as soon as we validate it with a win, that next one will be a lot easier to get than the first one is right now/' Guy said. The next opportunity for a breakthrough comes this SatV urday when the Aggies travel south to Salt Lake City for the. •latest installment of its instate rivalry with Utah. The U owns the bragging rights at the moment, because it has dominated lately, winning the yearly contest every season sinr^ 1997. Getting emotionally ready for the game won't be difficult for the Aggies, Guy said. "It's always a game that we're excited to play," he said. "We've got to make it more of a rivalry game. We hope to go down (to Salt Lake City) and compete much better than we have." Guy is concerned about his team's health. With the recent cold weather, sickness is running through the team, he said. See AGGIES Game Guide 4 i |