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Show „ - I I * * LOO King TO r a J O b . If you: Page8 StatesmanSpOrtS Tickets available for UNLV trip By SAMMY HISLOP sports editor Want to help keep USU great! Like talking with people Don't mind starting at $8.00/hr Want to work less than 10 hours/week Want to pick your own hours Join the Aggie Connection Team Apply at Student Employment Job #269-94 GEICO. A15-miniftecall could save you 15% on car insurance. 1513 N. Hillfield Rd., Suite 3 (801) 752-0485 Wednesday, Aug. 27, 200B ASUSU is sponsoring a student road trip to Las Vegas this week to watch the USU-UNLV football game. Tickets for the road trip are on sale now, and students can pick them up in room 326 of the Taggart Student Center, at Day on the Quad or the Coach's Show on the HPER field. Tickets are only $75, and will include the following: a bus ticket, hotel stay (at a Super 8, located one-half mile from the Strip) and a ticket to the game. The bus will be leaving this Friday at noon and arriving back in Logan at approximately 7 a.m Sunday Morning. Only 150 students will be able to go, but tickets are still available. •samuel.hislop@aggiemail. usu.edu QB: Setzer and Borel to lead out [] continued from page 5 as the man with that one snap. It was a 2-yard pass completion on Senior Day last season—a game the visiting Boise State Broncos won, 52-0. Setzer's performance in fall camp earned him the starting job for Game 1 at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Aug. 30. But, as head coach Brent Guy emphasized, the starter for Game 1 is only the starter for Game 1. "Everybody wants to know who the starting quarterback is, but all that means is that he is the starting quarterback for the first game," Guy said. "The first game is critical to any football season, but it's not the end-all. I don't want to put everything on one game." Setzer's throws were crisp and his decisions sound in USD's final scrimmage as he completed 8-of-17 passes for 98 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Stanley Morrison. With his running performance in the Aug. 16 scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Diondre Borel of Oakley, Calif., will also get into the game. Borel was 4-for-9 passing and collected 80 yards rushing on eight attempts. "Diondre is making great strides and Sean knows that Diondre is a person we trust to put into the ball game," Guy said. "We anticipate Diondre Borel will be in the game a significant amount of time." True freshman Exavier Johnson, a native of Van Nuys, Calif., was also in the mix. He was 3-for-6 passing in the final scrimmage, but his throws were wobbly and he fumbled two consecutive snaps. He also scrambled five times for 11 yards. "I know I'm not going to get that much playing time because I'm an incoming freshman with veterans ahead of me," Johnson said. "But I'm just going to keep working hard until I get up there and keep building off that." Though Setzer has the starting position, he said the battle among his quarterbacking colleagues isn't about the individual. USU STARTING QUARTERBACK SEAN SETZER (10) passes under pressure Aug. 16 during a scrimmage at Romney Stadium. PATRICK ODEN photo "Really, I don't allow myself to think to much about competition," he said. "Even when Jase was here, I always figured if I studied hard and did my best on the field that things would work out for me. I don't really concern myself with how people do. I just prepare like I'm the starter every day." Setzer was in the mix to be starter before the '07 season began, but was plagued by a shoulder injury. He said he worked hard in the offseason to get back to form. "I really dedicated myself," he said. "I've been in the film room watching film, doing extra things with the teammates." Borel was inserted as a wide receiver last year to allow him to get playing time and utilize his speed. He had one catch for eight yards and five rushes for 10 yards. .- ;,-.'< —sarnuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu '•"'/':M Ags: Defense has depth, experience [J continued from page 5 U S U S T R O N G SAFETY D E ' V O N H A L L (45) closes in on USU quarterback Diondre Borel after he had already gone down. Hall is one of nine returning starters on the Aggie defense in 2008. PATRICK ODEN photo THE 1 A.M. LINE DANCE Heel. Toe. Heel. Toe. Heel. Toe. DRUNK DRIVING OVER THE UMfT. UNDER ARREST. determined, but the veterans feel this season could be a breakthrough one. Senior strong safety De'Von Hall went as far as saying he sees no flaws in the 2008 Aggie defense. "The biggest weakness? I'd have to see us against' another team because I don't feel like we have a weakness, really," Hall said. "I feel like everybody is excelling in camp. Until another opponent exposes a weakness. I don't think there is a weakness." Three of those opponents have been picked as preseason Top-25 teams by USAToday. BYU (Oct. 3) was placed at No. 17, Oregon (Sept. 6) No. 20 and Fresno State (Oct. 25 Homecoming game) No. 25. Utah (Sept. 13) and Boise State (Nov. 8) also received votes. Hall's reasoning is the depth the defense possesses. Because of the number of bodies, Hall was moved from linebacker to safety and Roy Hurst went from safety to cornerback. "A lot of times if you played a whole game for the first five games, during weeks five and six your body might start breaking down," Hall said. "But if we can keep guys going fresh and keep guys at 100 percent the whole time, that's just great for everybody." Last season presented a plethora of heartbreaking situations in which the Aggie defense gave up leads in the fourth quarter four times. The spring and fall practice sessions have given the team opportunities to work on specific situations they fell short in last year. "This is definitely the most experienced defense we've had since I've been here," said USU middle linebacker Jake Hutton. "I don't think we'll have hardly any inexperienced guys on the field. "It's a huge difference. Experience definitely helps out in those situations because one blown assignment can ruin a play and go for a touchdown. Since everybody is on the same page, we shouldn't have hardly any blown assignments. That's going to help out a lot." For the second straight season, the Aggies return their top four tacklers—all of which had 80 tackles or more. They also return eight of the nine players that had an interception. —samuel. hislop@aggiemail. usu.edu |