Most football coaches would be elated if their team went through a whole game and got just one penalty for 5 yards, total. Normally, Utah State's Charlie Weatherbie would be happy with that, too.
Not this time.Weatherbie says the one penalty for 5 yards the Aggies drew in Saturday's season-opening 32-17 loss at Romney Stadium to Utah (15 penalties, 133 yards) was a sign his team was passive. "Very tentative," he said Sunday night after watching game videotapes.
"We could tell before the game when they went on the field - we couldn't tell if they were real intense or maybe a little nervous. We found out real quick," Weatherbie said.
He promises they'll be different for this Saturday's game at Colorado State and is still certain that, "We're going to have a real good football team."
Many teams had the same problem on opening weekend, but maybe not with so many players. The problem? The NCAA's new "clearing house" that OKs the eligibility of incoming players got bogged down and didn't get around to approving everybody. Utah coaches told the Aggies that three or four Utes would sit out. Utah State was unable to dress about seven or eight players, all freshmen, for Saturday's game.
One of them, offensive lineman Ken Watts (6-foot-4, 270 pounds, from La Mirada, Calif.), was No. 2 on the depth chart. He was to back up Marcus Daley at left tackle. Daley, a sophomore, was starting because Brian Davies is out for the season with a knee injury.
The other six or seven probably wouldn't have played, Weatherbie said, "but they couldn't even suit up. I don't think it had any affect on the game; it was just tough on the kids," he said. "It's a big mistake for the NCAA to cost a kid an opportunity because they haven't got the stuff together."
Weatherbie says the Ags have been making about two calls a day to the NCAA trying to straighten things out, but the clearing house has been too swamped to process everyone. In some cases, players were ruled ineligible because of misinformation, and they were later declared eligible after the team requested a review of the situations.
Sophomore linebacker David Gill led both teams Saturday in tackles with 16. He was the only player on either team in double figures. He had seven solos and nine assists, two pass breakups and two tackles for loss. "He did some good things. He's going to be a good leader for us," said Weatherbie. "He missed a couple, too. He could have had 20."
Former quarterback Todd Wilson, a junior from Logan High, is making his mark on special teams. He's the long snapper but was also routinely one of the first players to confront the ball carriers. Weatherbie noted that the Utes weren't blocking him, but, "He did a great job snapping the ball and getting down on coverage."